PRACTICING TAI CHI = FEWER FALLS

Friday, October 21, 2022 Ron gave me 2 articles: one about Charlotte Sanddal, 100 years old and still breaking records, and the second from FOCUS ON HEALTHY AGING: the subscription publication of the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai.  The second       --Thank you Ron.

 

#1 Charlotte

 

Photo credit: Jess McGlothlin for the Wall Street Journal

 

 Talk about breaking records at 100 years of age, Click HERE for a video of Mighty Mo (Maurine Kornfield) of Glendale California

 

 

 

 

October 21, 2022 Dolphins come in while we practice Tai Chi at Aliso Creek Beach.

Videographer:  Malou

 

 

 

#2 Tai Chi = Fewer Falls 

(Not to mention the serenity in the company of wild dolphins.)

 

 Tai Chi and fall reductions in older adults

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2005 Feb;60(2):187-94.

doi: 10.1093/gerona/60.2.187.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY* FULL ABSTRACT BELOW.

Objective:  to evaluate the efficacy of a 6-month Tai Chi intervention for decreasing the number of falls and the risk for falling in older persons.

Methods: This trial involved a sample of 256 physically inactive, community-dwelling adults in Portland, Oregon aged 70 to 92 (mean age, 77 years ). 

Participants were to participate in a three-times-per-week Tai Chi group or to a stretching control group for 6 months. 

Results:                                          Tai Chi Group vs   Control Group

significantly fewer falls                         38                             73

lower proportions of fallers                 28%                         46%

 and fewer injurious falls                       7%                           18%

 were observed in the Tai Chi group compared with the stretching control group. 

After adjusting for baseline covariates, the risk for multiple falls in the Tai Chi group was 55% lower than that of the stretching control group

Conclusions: A three-times-per-week, 6-month Tai Chi program is effective in decreasing the number of falls, the risk for falling, and the fear of falling, and it improves functional balance and physical performance in physically inactive persons 70 years or older.

 * This summary edited by Toby Manzanares  

For further reading, I found more details (below) at the National Library of Medicine at NIH National Institutes of Health.  

FULL ABSTRACT  SIMILAR ARTICLES AT PAGE BOTTOM

Clinical Trial

 

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. 2005 Feb;60(2):187-94.

doi: 10.1093/gerona/60.2.187.

Tai Chi and fall reductions in older adults: a randomized controlled trial

Fuzhong Li ¹, Peter Harmer, K John Fisher, Edward McAuley, Nigel Chaumeton, Elizabeth Eckstrom, Nicole L Wilson

Abstract

Background: The authors' objective was to evaluate the efficacy of a 6-month Tai Chi intervention for decreasing the number of falls and the risk for falling in older persons.

Methods: This randomized controlled trial involved a sample of 256 physically inactive, community-dwelling adults aged 70 to 92 (mean age, 77.48 years; standard deviation, 4.95 years) who were recruited through a patient database in Portland, Oregon. Participants were randomized to participate in a three-times-per-week Tai Chi group or to a stretching control group for 6 months. The primary outcome measure was the number of falls; the secondary outcome measures included functional balance (Berg Balance Scale, Dynamic Gait Index, Functional Reach, and single-leg standing), physical performance (50-foot speed walk, Up&Go), and fear of falling, assessed at baseline, 3 months, 6 months (intervention termination), and at a 6-month postintervention follow-up.

Results: At the end of the 6-month intervention, significantly fewer falls (n=38 vs 73; p=.007), lower proportions of fallers (28% vs 46%; p=.01), and fewer injurious falls (7% vs 18%; p=.03) were observed in the Tai Chi group compared with the stretching control group. After adjusting for baseline covariates, the risk for multiple falls in the Tai Chi group was 55% lower than that of the stretching control group (risk ratio,.45; 95% confidence interval, 0.30 to 0.70). Compared with the stretching control participants, the Tai Chi participants showed significant improvements (p<.001) in all measures of functional balance, physical performance, and reduced fear of falling. Intervention gains in these measures were maintained at a 6-month postintervention follow-up in the Tai Chi group.

Conclusions: A three-times-per-week, 6-month Tai Chi program is effective in decreasing the number of falls, the risk for falling, and the fear of falling, and it improves functional balance and physical performance in physically inactive persons aged 70 years or older.

 

 

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