Source: Thailand Medical News Dec 01, 2019 5 years, 3 weeks, 1 day, 8 hours, 26 minutes ago
Researchers from Bournemouth University has found that
Tai Chi brings positive health benefits to older people with
dementia.
The new TACIT Trial looked at the benefits that
Tai Chi can bring for people with
dementia, specifically looking at whether
Tai Chi could prevent falls and improve quality of live.
"We were really interested to see if
Tai Chi improves balance and prevents falls among people with
dementia. This is an important issue because people with
dementia are twice as likely to fall, and twice as likely to have injuries as a result of falls." commented Dr. Samuel Nyman, a Principal Academic at Bournemouth University and study leader, during a phone interview with
Thailand Medical News .
The recent research took a control group, who carried out normal activities, and measured them alongside a group of a similar make up who all undertook a six month
Tai Chi programme.
The findings of the research, published in Clinical Interventions in Aging found that those who had followed a programme of
Tai Chi maintained a good quality of life, whereas those in the control group had a decline in life quality over the same period.
Dr Samuel Nyman added, "We found that those who did
Tai Chi really enjoyed the classes and meeting up with others who have
dementia and their family carers. We found
Tai Chi to be an incredibly safe and gentle exercise, and family carers were happy to support their loved ones with the classes and home practice. Although we found no improvements in scores on balance tests, there was a strong trend for those in the
Tai Chi group to have fewer falls."
The research study was carried out across the South of England, with
Tai Chi sessions in Dorset, Southampton and Portsmouth.
The team has plans to continue the research with a larger study that will seek to prove through more data that T
ai Chi does prevent falls, specifically in people with
dementia. It will also seek to understand how exactly
Tai Chi does reduce falls.
Reference : Samuel R Nyman et al., Randomised Controlled Trial Of The Effect Of Tai Chi On Postural Balance Of People With Dementia, Clinical Interventions in Aging (2019). DOI: 10.2147/CIA.S228931
