Vol. 1 No. 2 September 2009
Hi again, Tai Chi fans and those wanting to know more about how Tai Chi effects various aspects of health.
Welcome to our second Newsletter on Tai Chi For Health. Each month, we will pick a different topic of health and gather the most up to date and highly respected health journals in the world on that subject and how it relates to Tai Chi.
This month's subject is on PREVENTING FALLS AND CHRONIC PAIN
These Newsletters will not be another vehicle to promote myself. Although I have hundreds of students and patients who have benefited from my DVDs and clinic, I will limit these articles to the best solid research that is available today. Although testimonies by individuals has some merit, I feel there is nothing as compelling or convincing as a study conducted with hundreds of subjects and utilizing the many rigid standards and controls that are in use today. Most of the sources below are the most prominent journals on arthritis today. Several articles refer to other sources for more in-depth information on the subject so you will have plenty of information to keep you busy for quite sometime! Enjoy the sites below and don't hesitate to call me with further questions. (see above on he left)
Thanks and have a healthy life,
Mark
Acupuncture May Ease Chronic Back Pain
Study Shows Acupuncture Trumps Standard Care for Back Pain Relief
By Kathleen Doheny
WebMD Health News
(Tai Chi and Chi Kung both work on the same principles as acupuncture as I teach it)
http://www.webmd.com/back-pain/news/20090511/acupuncture-may-ease-chronic-back-pain
Science News
Tai Chi Program Helps Prevent Falls Among Older Adults
ScienceDaily (Aug. 13, 2008)
In the July issue of the American Journal of Public Health, Oregon Research Institute (ORI) senior scientist Fuzhong Li, Ph.D., describes how senior community centers in Lane County, Oregon successfully adopted an evidence-based Tai Chi program to prevent falls among older adults. Based on this success, the Oregon Department of Human Services, in partnership with 4 counties in Oregon, has now adopted the Tai Chi program as part of its efforts to disseminate evidence-based interventions to promote physical activity and reduce falls among community-living older adults.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/08/080811200343.htm
Fifty-two patients were given a ten-week 2 _ hour mind-body intervention that included an educational component, relaxation training and Qi Gong movement therapy. At the end of treatment patients scored significantly different on a variety of measures of pain, depression, balance controll and other measurements. The data indicated the usefulness of Qi Gong in facilitating restoration of function in combination with educational and relaxation interventions.
Journal of Holistic Nursing, 1999, Vol 17, Issue 3, pages 267-279
http://jhn.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/17/3/267
Tai Chi has demonstrated usefulness in the prevention and treatment of certain problems such as back pain. Importantly, Tai Chi is non-invasive, relatively inexpensive, and gentle on the spine, so many people with back pain are starting to try it as an adjunct to (or sometimes instead of) traditional medical approaches to manage back pain.
Tai Chi – University of Maryland Medical Center – Dec. 2002
Reviewed By: Jacqueline A. Hart, MD, Department of Internal Medicine, Newton-Wellesley Hospital, Boston, Ma and Senior Medical Editor A.D.A.M., Inc.; Lonnie Lee, MD, Internal Medicine, Silver Springs, MD.
Tai Chi is both a preventive and a complementary therapy for a wide range of conditions. Specifically, it is beneficial for chronic pain, gout, heart disease, high blood pressure, arthritis, osteoporosis, headaches, and sleep disorders. Tai Chi is also beneficial for the immune system and the central nervous system, which makes it especially good for people with a chronic illness, anxiety, depression, or any stress-related conditions.
Acupuncture Today - August, 2001, Volume 02, Issue 08
http://www.acupuncturetoday.com/archives2001/aug/08taichi.html
All of the information above was gathered from: http://www.worldtaichiday.org/WTCQDHlthBenft.html