Tai Chi May Help Stroke Patients BMJ

* BMJ Group, Wednesday 25 March 2009

The traditional Chinese exercise Tai Chi may help people who’ve had strokes regain their ability to balance. In a study, people were better able to balance after a 12-week course of Tai Chi than after a course of general exercise and stroke education.

What do we know already?

Having a stroke can damage the parts of the brain that help you keep your balance. Not everyone gets this problem, but some people find it hard to learn to walk again. Problems with balance can mean people are more likely to fall and injure themselves.

Tai Chi is a form of exercise where people learn to move slowly and deliberately through a sequence of standing poses. It’s usually done in smooth, flowing movements and requires a lot of concentration. It’s very popular in China, especially with older people, who often take part in outdoor classes in parks.
What does the new study say?

The study compared two groups of people who’d had strokes more than six months previously. One group had regular sessions of exercise therapy and the other did sessions of Tai Chi. Both groups had 12, weekly, hour-long sessions, and were encouraged to spend another three hours a week practising at home.

At the end of the study, and again four weeks later, the Tai Chi group performed better in tests of how good their balance was when they were standing. They were better able to shift their weight and lean forwards and backwards, and from one side to another. They were also better able to balance on a moving surface, with and without their eyes closed. The general exercise group didn’t show much improvement in these tests.

Neither group improved much in a test looking at speed of mobility, which measured how quickly people could get up from a chair, walk, turn around and sit back down.

How reliable are the findings?

The study only looked at 136 people, but seems to have been carried out well. The people allocated to practice Tai Chi were slightly younger, but the researchers adjusted their results to account for this. Both groups had similar test results at the start of the study.

The results are likely to be fairly reliable, but only looked at the short-term benefits of Tai Chi. It would be useful to know whether the benefits lasted, or whether doing Tai Chi could stop people falling and injuring themselves.
Where does the study come from?

The study was carried out by researchers at Hong Kong Polytechnic University, China. It was published in the medical journal Neurorehabilitation and Neural Repair, owned by the American Society of Neurorehabilitation. It was funded by the S.K. Yee Medical Foundation and by a grant from the Hong Kong Polytechnic University.
What does this mean for me?

If you’ve had a stroke and have problems with balance, this is an interesting study. But we don’t know whether the improved balance necessarily translates into fewer falls. Also, although the improvement lasted during the four weeks from the end of the study to the final test, we don’t know whether it would last longer than that. It might depend on whether people continued to practise.

What should I do now?

You could look to see whether there are any Tai Chi classes in your area. However, the study used an adapted form of Tai Chi that had been developed for people with arthritis. You should speak to an instructor to ask whether the type of Tai Chi they teach is suitable for people who’ve had a stroke. You may need extra help or support to make sure you don’t fall while taking part.
From: The Guardian web site, Health: best treatments

Au-Yeung SSY, Hui-Chan CWY, Tang JCS. Short-form Tai Chi improves standing balance of people with chronic stroke. Neurorehabilitation and Neural Repair. Published online January 2009.

© BMJ Publishing Group Limited (”BMJ Group”) 2009

To learn more about the Boston Healing Tao click here

For information on Tai Chi forms go to the following links:

Tai Chi Short Form

Tai Chi Short Form DVD

Tai Chi Long Form

Tai Chi and Meditation Winter Retreat

Marie Favorito and Sharon Smith – Instructors

Tai Chi May Ease Knee Pain

People With Severe Osteoarthritis Got Relief From Practicing Tai Chi, Study Shows

By Kelley Colihan
WebMD Health News

Reviewed by Louise Chang, MD

Oct. 25, 2008 — A new study shows the ancient Chinese movement art of tai chi can help ease knee pain in people who have severe osteoarthritis.

Researchers, led by Chenchen Wang, MD, MSc, from Tufts Medical Center in Boston, got together 40 people with severe knee osteoarthritis who reported knee pain on most days of the previous month.

The average age of the study participants was 65. All had osteoarthritis for an average of 10 years and were considered overweight, with an average body mass index of 30.

One group practiced an hour of tai chi (adapted from the classical yang style) twice a week for 12 weeks. The comparison group received the same amount of time stretching and boning up on wellness education.

Researchers wanted to see how scores on pain, physical function, health-related quality of life, and mood changed at the end of 12 weeks. They found that the tai chi group improved more than the other group in scores of pain, physical function, depression, and physical quality of life.

Researchers repeated the assessments at 24 weeks and 48 weeks and found that the group that continued to practice tai chi had less pain and longer-lasting function benefits.

A recent CDC study found that the lifetime risk of having symptomatic knee osteoarthritis was nearly 45%, with increased risk for people with history of a knee injury.

Tai chi, sometimes called a “soft martial art,” uses flowing, gentle movements and balancing postures. It also employs a meditative quality, as the mind focuses on the body movements.

The results are being released Oct. 25 at the American College of Rheumatology’s annual meeting in San Francisco.

The research was partially funded by the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine.

View Article Sources

SOURCES:

American College of Rheumatology Annual Scientific Meeting, San Francisco, Oct. 24-29, 2008.

News release, American College of Rheumatology.

WebMD Medical News

© 2008 WebMD, LLC. All rights reserved.

The Law of Attraction and Goal Setting for Kids

“It’s our choices, Harry,
that show us what we really are…
far more than our abilities.”

~ Albus Cumbledore from ‘ Harry Potter’ by J K Rowling ~

“Keep away from people who try to belittle your ambitions.
Small people always do that,
but the really great make you feel that
you too can become great.”

~ Mark Twain ~


We just found out about a wonderful program for kids!

Imagine if you learned Goal Setting and Visualization when you were a kid. These are beautifully illustrated books and tools for both young and older kids.

The first book EVER to explain goal setting and the Law of Attraction in terms your children will understand!

‘Go for Your Goals’ is also designed to answer all your questions about these life-making topics in a thorough parent’s guide.

You can sample the books before you buy them and there are over 24 Bonus Gifts that come along with your purchase. I sure wish I had these books as a kid!

Check it out here: ‘Go For Your Goals’

Jill Bolte Taylor: My stroke of insight

Jill Bolte Taylor got a research opportunity few brain scientists would wish for: She had a massive stroke, and watched as her brain functions — motion, speech, self-awareness –- shut down one by one. An astonishing story.

Brain researcher Jill Bolte Taylor studied her own stroke as it happened — and has become a powerful voice for brain recovery.

See how she speaks about the right brain as a receptor for energy and the beauty of one-ness experienced through the right hemisphere. Did you know that a practice of Chi Kung improves the functioning of the right brain?

Carrots, Eggs, Coffee, and Tai Chi

Post by John Crewdson

How are carrots, eggs, coffee, and tai chi related? First a story I got via email from my friend Melanie Hirsch.

A carrot, an egg, and a cup of coffee…You will never look at a cup of coffee the same way again.

A young woman went to her mother and told her about her life and how things were so hard for her. She did not know how she was going to make it and wanted to give up, She was tired of fighting and struggling. It seemed as one problem was solved, a new one arose.

Her mother took her to the kitchen. She filled three pots with water and placed each on a high fire. Soon the pots came to boil. In the first she placed carrots, in the second she placed eggs, and in the last she placed ground coffee beans. She let them sit and boil; without saying a word.

In about twenty minutes she turned off the burners. She fished the carrots out and placed them in a bowl. She pulled the eggs out and placed them in a bowl. Then she ladled the coffee out and placed it in a bowl. Turning to her daughter, she asked, ‘ Tell me what you see.’

‘Carrots, eggs, and coffee,’ she replied.

Her mother brought her closer and asked her to feel the carrots. She did and noted that they were soft. The mother then asked the daughter to take an egg and break it. After pulling off the shell, she observed the hard boiled egg.

Finally, the mother asked the daughter to sip the coffee. The daughter smiled as she tasted its rich aroma. The daughter then asked, ‘What does it mean, mother?’

Her mother explained that each of these objects had faced the same adversity: boiling water. Each reacted differently. The carrot went in strong, hard, and unrelenting. However, after being subjected to the boiling water, it softened and became weak. The egg had been fragile. Its thin outer shell had protected its liquid interior, but after sitting through the boiling water, its inside became hardened. The ground coffee beans were unique, however. After they were in the boiling
water, they had changed the water.

‘Which are you?’ she asked her daughter. ‘When adversity knocks on your door, how do you respond? Are you a carrot, an egg or a coffee bean?

Think of this: Which am I? Am I the carrot that seems strong, but with pain and adversity do I wilt and become soft and lose my strength?

Am I the egg that starts with a malleable heart, but changes with the heat? Did I have a fluid spirit, but after a death, a breakup, a financial hardship or some other trial, have I become hardened and stiff? Does my shell look the same, but on the inside am I bitter and tough with a stiff spirit and hardened heart?

Or am I like the coffee bean? The bean actually changes the hot water, the very circumstance that brings the pain. When the water gets hot, it releases the fragrance and flavor. If you are like the bean, when things are at their worst, you get better and change the situation around you. When the hour is the darkest and trials are their greatest do you elevate yourself to another level? How do you handle adversity? Are you a carrot, an egg or a coffee bean?

May you have enough happiness to make you sweet, enough trials to make you strong, enough sorrow to keep you human and enough hope to make you happy.

The happiest of people don’t necessarily have the best of everything; they just make the most of everything that comes along their way. The brightest future will always be based on a forgotten past; you can’t go forward in life until you let go of your past failures and heartaches.

When you were born, you were crying and everyone around you was smiling.
Live your life so at the end, you’re the one who is smiling and everyone around you is crying.

May we all be COFFEE!!!

Tai chi has helped me become soft when I need to be and hard for brief moments when necessary, so I could learn to change my surroundings. Tai chi’s spiritual nature allows you to blend with the water of daily life, be it a rushing torrent or a boiling pot. It would take too many words to explain it better than this simple and elegant story, if I even could. It’s better to experience it. Visit me at www.beginningtaichi.net.

My friend Mel is also talented at teaching people how to effectively deal with stress. Download her free 5 minute relaxation session from www.quick2calm.com.

Posted by John Crewdson – www.beginningtaichi.net
Experience Bursts of Tai Chi(TM) click here – http://tinyurl.com/3n9zj8

John is a formally accepted protege (disciple) of the 5th generation Yang Master, Cui Zhongsan of Beijing, China. John trains and teaches at The Mei Zhong Yang Style Taijiquan Association, USA in Decatur, Georgia, as well as teaching via the internet. He trains with his master whenever he travels to Beijing and whenever Master Cui visits the United States. In keeping with tradition, and just plain old good form, John also likes to acknowledge Miriam Holland who is the founder of Mei Zhong, John’s senior training sister, and a fellow disciple of Master Cui (visit www.mz108.com).

Anyone may copy this article and use it however they see fit, as long as it is copied in its entirety with all links, the author’s information, and this statement. You may also email me at John@beginningtaich.net.