Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2016 Oct 31;12(5):499-503.
doi: 10.12965/jer.1632654.327. eCollection 2016 Oct.

Effects of therapeutic Tai chi on functional fitness and activities of daily living in patients with Parkinson disease

Hye-Jung Choi  1
Affiliations

Effects of therapeutic Tai chi on functional fitness and activities of daily living in patients with Parkinson disease

Hye-Jung Choi. J Exerc Rehabil. .

Abstract

The purpose of the study is to investigate the effects of therapeutic Tai chi (TTC) on the functional fitness status and activities of daily living (ADL) of patients with Parkinson disease (PD). The participants were clinically stable PDs in Hoehn and Yahr stage 1-2. These patients were randomly assigned to either the TTC group (n=11) or the control (CON) group (n=9). The TTC exercised at the clinic 2 times a week and performed home-based activity 1 time per week for 12 weeks. All the PDs were evaluated for functional fitness test and ADL screen before and after the 12-week trial. There was a significant Time × group interaction effect on the arm curl (P<0.01), functional reach (P<0.05), and stand on foot with eyes opened (P<0.05) of the functional fitness as compared to the CON. The results of the functional reach test in the CON worsened significantly during the 12-week intervention in comparison with those of the TTC (P<0.01). Also ADL showed significant changed in TCC (P<0.05). Tai chi training showed good effects on the functional fitness in PDs. This study suggests that further research into the based such as Tai chi intervention must be developed PD's quality of life in the future.

Keywords: Activities of daily living; Functional fitness; Parkinson disease; Tai chi.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

    1. American College of Sports Medicine. ACSM’s guidelines for exercise testing and prescription. Philadelphia: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins; 2010.
    1. Burini D, Farabollini B, Iacucci S, Rimatori C, Riccardi G, Capecci M, Provinciali L, Ceravolo MG. A randomised controlled cross-over trial of aerobic training versus Qigong in advanced Parkinson’s disease. Eura Medicophys. 2006;42:231–238. - PubMed
    1. Canning CG, Alison JA, Allen NE, Groeller H. Parkinson’s disease: an investigation of exercise capacity, respiratory function, and gait. Arch Phys Med Rehabil. 1997;78:199–207. - PubMed
    1. Carlson NR. Foundation of physiological psychology. Boston: Allyn & Bacon; 2005.
    1. Choi HJ, Garber CE, Jun TW, Jin YS, Chung SJ, Kang HJ. Therapeutic effects of tai chi in patients with Parkinson’s disease. ISRN Neurol. 2013;2013:548240. - PMC - PubMed