{"id":2351,"date":"2012-03-31T02:00:31","date_gmt":"2012-03-31T06:00:31","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.dontow.com\/?p=2351"},"modified":"2019-06-29T08:39:23","modified_gmt":"2019-06-29T12:39:23","slug":"taiji-and-parkinson-disease","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.dontow.com\/2012\/03\/taiji-and-parkinson-disease\/","title":{"rendered":"Taiji and Parkinson Disease"},"content":{"rendered":"

Parkinson’s disease is a degenerative disorder of the central nervous system.\u00a0 It belongs to a group of conditions called motor system disorders, which are the result of the loss of dopamine-producing brain cells.\u00a0 Dopamine is a chemical released by nerve cells to send signals to other nerve cells.\u00a0 The four primary symptoms of Parkinson’s disease are (1) tremor, or trembling in hands, arms, legs, jaw, and face; (2) rigidity, or stiffness of the limbs and trunk; (3) bradykinesia, or slowness of movement; and (4) postural instability, or impaired balance and coordination. As these symptoms become more pronounced, patients may have difficulty walking, talking, or completing other simple tasks.\u00a0 At advanced stages, cognitive and\u00a0 behavioural problems and dementia may arise.<\/p>\n

This recent study conducted a randomized, controlled trial of 195 patients with stage 1 to 4 affliction with Parkinson’s disease. [3]\u00a0 These 195 patients were randomly assigned to one of three groups:\u00a0 Taiji, resistance training, or stretching.\u00a0 The patients participated in 60-minute exercise sessions twice weekly for 24 weeks.\u00a0 At the end of 24 weeks, they were given several Parkinson’s disease-related standardized tests to measure various parameters related to strength, movement control, balance, stride length and reach, and number of falls.<\/p>\n

The Taiji group performed consistently better than the stretching group in all the above measurements of strength, movement control, balance, stride length and reach, and number of falls.\u00a0\u00a0 The Taiji group also outperformed the resistance-training group in the measurements of strength, movement control, balance, stride length and reach, and about the same in the number of falls.\u00a0 Furthermore, the benefits of Taiji training were maintained at three months after the 6-month study, and no serious adverse effects were observed.\u00a0 The improvements were statistically significant.<\/p>\n

These research findings show that the quality of life of Parkinson disease patients can be improved, because people with Parkinson disease often lose the ability to maintain standing balance and have difficulty walking and are at risk for frequent falls.\u00a0 Furthermore, current medications do not work well to relieve impaired balance or postural instability, besides having negative side effects, although medications can relieve some symptoms of Parkinson’s disease like tremors.<\/p>\n

This study did not offer any explanation on why Taiji can have these positive impacts on Parkinson’s disease.\u00a0 The cause of Parkinson’s disease is due to insufficient dopamine-generating cells in the midbrain, and the cause of this loss is not known.\u00a0 Although we do not know how and if practicing Taiji can overcome this chemical problem, we do know that practicing Taiji can give rise to physiological results that can enhance bodily motions.\u00a0 For example, we know that Taiji exercises and many of the warm-up exercises for Taiji classes can increase the strength and flexibility of the legs, thus increasing the reach and control of the legs and also reducing the probability of falls.\u00a0 The emphasis in Taiji on waist rotation can increase bodily flexibility and reach.\u00a0 Taiji movements emphasize proper placements of the feet (e.g., there should be one shoulder-width separation in the transverse direction between the left leg and the right leg, thus increasing the stability and balance.\u00a0 Taiji’s emphasis on relaxing the whole body can reduce stress and allow the muscles to function efficiently and with increased strength.\u00a0 Finally, the overall improvement of health from practicing Taiji should also result in some positive implications in various tests of strength, range and flexibility of motion.\u00a0 Therefore, even though currently we do not know if practicing Taiji can reduce the loss of dopamine-generating cells or perhaps even increase the regeneration of such cells, we do understand that some of the physiological benefits from practicing Taiji could improve the results of tests to measure Parkinson’s disease.<\/p>\n

This recent study and many of the other studies during the last 20 years usually involved only a few dozen to a few hundred people.\u00a0 These studies must be repeated by many other groups and involving an order or two orders of magnitude larger.\u00a0 Personally, I believe that 20-30 years from now, we will have a strong confirmation of these indications of the positive health benefits of Taiji, and more importantly we will have a better understanding and explanation on why Taiji can lead to these health benefits.<\/p>\n

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[1] Taiji is also written as Tai Chi.\u00a0 For reviews of the health benefits of Taiji, see “Health Benefits of Taiji<\/a>” and “A Comprehensive Review of Health Benefits of Qigong and Tai Chi<\/a>“.<\/p>\n

[2] Fuzhong Li, Ph.D., Peter Harmer, Ph.D., M.P.H., Kathleen Fitzgerald, M.D., Elizabeth Eckstrom, M.D., M.P.H., Ronald Stock, M.D., Johnny Galver, P.T., Gianni Maddalozzo, Ph.D., and Sara S. Batya, M.D.\u00a0 N Engl J Med 2012; 366:511-519, February 9, 2012.\u00a0 This article can be seen at “Tai Chi and Postural Stability in Patients with Parkinson’s Disease<\/a>.”<\/p>\n

[3] Out of five stages.\u00a0 The higher the stage the more serious is the problem.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"