Tai chi health benefits? What the research says
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is growing in popularity in the UK, with more clubs and classes popping up around the country and people of all ages wanting to give it a go.
It has been practised for years in China 鈥� often by big groups in parks. Tai chi or 鈥渢aiji鈥� is a form of qi gong, an umbrella term for ancient Chinese traditional practices of . Tai chi is a 鈥渕ind-body exercise鈥�. You do slow, gentle, and fluid movements with your body. While doing this you focus on the movements and your breathing and forget about the stresses of life.
Anyone can do tai chi. It is suitable and safe for people of all ages and abilities 鈥� though may need to be adapted for certain people or if you have a medical condition.
Tai Chi research
A lot of claims have been made about the benefits of tai chi.
Studies have found, for example, that tai chi improves and , a key issue for older people as falls can result in hip fracture and a fear of going outside independently.
Research has also suggested that tai chi may be good for reducing pain, for example in people with . And that it may also help to prevent , be effective in , and help ease breathing difficulties in people with a .
In addition, it has been suggested that tai chi can improve mental health by reducing symptoms of depression and anxiety . Research has also suggested it could help to improve .
Despite these reported benefits, however, a lot of the above research on tai chi has been of , with unclear or a high risk of bias in results because of the way the studies were carried out 鈥� for example, not making sure people are randomly assigned to a tai chi or control group. This is important, as there needs to be no difference between people in the two groups other than doing tai chi or not. Without such controls, it is hard for researchers to draw accurate conclusions. So while current studies suggest it is possible that tai chi offers health benefits, more evidence is needed to truly say if this is the case.
Tai chi and dementia
Tai chi has also been touted as a possible method for helping to prevent dementia or for slowing down the progression of the disease. Studies, for example, have shown that it can enhance , such as better performance on tests for speed to understand and respond to information, attention, and memory for current tasks.
And tai chi is also considered to have the potential to delay the deterioration in associated with dementia. Indeed, a study from 2015 found that people who did aerobic exercise or a mind-body exercise like tai chi were less likely to have dementia .
I recently led a team to for people with dementia. The people in our study were able to learn tai chi and 鈥� research shows that finding a form of physical activity that increases the likelihood of you starting and a . We also found that tai chi had strong potential to and sustain a good quality of life in older people with dementia.
We avoided the risks of bias in earlier studies by conducting a gold-standard study (a randomised controlled trial). Though it was a small study to determine if it鈥檚 worthwhile to invest in a larger more expensive randomised controlled trial. So we hope to conduct another study in the future to confirm our results in a larger study.
Though, as yet, the evidence does not strongly support one particular idea for why tai chi may improve brain health and only a few studies have been done with people who have dementia, there are several as to why tai chi may improve brain health. For example, tai chi involves learning and remembering new movements. It requires sustained attention and multitasking. Its relaxing aspect is like mindfulness or 鈥渕oving meditation鈥�. The aerobic exercise aspect could also enhance the efficiency and flexibility of neural connections in the brain. But it is not yet known if tai chi is better for improving these aspects over other types of exercise and mindful activities.
What is clear though, is that tai chi is to be encouraged, as it is safe, easy to learn, enjoyable and has a lot of potential to bring . What鈥檚 needed now is more high quality research that will allow firm conclusions to be drawn as to how much it improves our overall health.
, Interim Deputy Head of Research, Department of Medical Science and Public Health,
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