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
. 2021 Nov 19;100(46):e27647.
doi: 10.1097/MD.0000000000027647.

Effect of Tai Chi exercise on lower limb function and balance ability in patients with knee osteoarthritis: A protocol of a randomized controlled trial

Haoyun Zheng  1 , Dong Zhang  2 , Yonggang Zhu  1 , Qingfu Wang  3
Affiliations

Effect of Tai Chi exercise on lower limb function and balance ability in patients with knee osteoarthritis: A protocol of a randomized controlled trial

Haoyun Zheng et al. Medicine (Baltimore). .

Abstract

Background: Knee osteoarthritis (KOA) is a chronic degenerative joint disease commonly occurring in middle-aged and elderly people. The main clinical manifestations are joint pain, limited activity, and decreased muscle strength resulting in decreased motor control ability. Exercise therapy is an effective method to enhance muscle strength of lower limbs, while China's traditional skill Tai Chi (TC) is a combination of activity and inertia, internal and external exercise therapy. In recent years, scholars at home and abroad have found that regular TC can effectively improve patients' lower limb function and balance ability. The purpose of this study is to explore the effects of TC on lower limb function and balance ability in patients with KOA.

Methods: This is a prospective randomized controlled clinical trial. One hundred forty-six cases of KOA patients will be randomly divided into experimental group and control group according to 1:1 ratio, 73 cases in each group, the control group: sodium hyaluronate; experimental group: TC added on the basis of the control group. Both groups will receive standard treatment for 5 weeks and will be followed up for 3 months. Observation indicators include: the western Ontario and McMaster universities osteoarthritis index; hospital for special surgery knee score; balance stability index, liver and kidney function, adverse reaction rate, etc. SPSS 23.0 software will be used for data analysis.

Discussion: This study will evaluate the effects of TC on lower limb function and balance ability of patients with KOA. The results of this trial will provide a clinical basis for the selection of exercise therapy for patients with KOA.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors have no conflicts of interest to disclose.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Flow diagram.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Guermazi A, Kalsi G, Niu J, et al. Structural effects of intra-articular TGF-β1 in moderate to advanced knee osteoarthritis: MRI-based assessment in a randomized controlled trial. BMC Musculoskelet Disord 2017;18:461. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Zhang W, Wang S, Zhang R, et al. Evidence of Chinese herbal medicine Duhuo Jisheng decoction for knee osteoarthritis: a systematic review of randomised clinical trials. BMJ Open 2016;6:e008973. - PMC - PubMed
    1. China Association of Chinese Medicine. Osteoarthritis. Rheum Arthritis 2013;2:71–3.
    1. Li H, Fang ZY, Bo LQ, et al. Effect of external application of Chinese medicinal on mild-to-moderate osteoarthritis of knee WOMAC and VAS scores. World Chin Med 2017;12:803–6.
    1. Tiulpin A, Thevenot J, Rahtu E, Lehenkari P, Saarakkala S. Automatic knee osteoarthritis diagnosis from plain radiographs: a deep learning-based approach. Sci Rep 2018;8:1727. - PMC - PubMed

Publication types