"Science" meets Taiji Quan

[Fu-Pow]

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=15996589&dopt=Abstract

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=pubmed&cmd=Retrieve&dopt=AbstractPlus&list_uids=16731217&query_hl=2&itool=pubmed_docsum

I thought that these articles might be of interest to some in light of our Taiji vs science debate. It appears that some researchers are starting to investigate biomechanics of Taiji.

FP

[Ford Prefect]

Good finds, FP.

The first study seems a bit ambiguous. They weren't really clear on the method.

The second study looks better, but the site I usually use to access my medical journals is down, so I can't see the full article yet. I'd be interested to see the methods and procedures.

Either way at least it looks like they are starting to test it.

[qiphlow]

links broken? or does the site go down alot?
just tried to get there, but no luck...:confused:

[Fu-Pow]

They still work for me.....:confused:

[qiphlow]

and so they work.

[charyuop]

Hmmmm I might be stupid, but so? When you walk your pressure is mostly on your back, when you walk "Tai Chi" style the bending of the knees increase the pressure on your feet. I mean this is not Tai Chi, this happenes always. Even a baseball batter has an increased pressure on his feet at the batting moment since he bends his knees.
At home to train my Tai Chi stences I walk with my knees significantly bent (I don't do it outside coz I would look stupid hee hee) and just by walking you can tell where the pressure is.

Sorry but I don't see the point of this study...

[Scott R. Brown]

Hmmmm I might be stupid, but so?

Sorry but I don't see the point of this study...

Exactly!! My thoughts as well!

Welcome to the world of scientific studies. Many scientific studies are a useless waste of time with insipid conclusions! Remember that many scientific studies are performed because a student needs a thesis project. Some students are required to perform scientific experiments or studies to complete their degrees. Hence these studies that come to obvious conclusions seeming to imply the findings were not established facts until a scientific study demonstrated it as fact!

“CONCLUSIONS: TCG had a low impact force, a fairly evenly distributed body weight between the fore-foot and rear-foot regions, and a large medial-lateral displacement of the foot COP.”

CONCLUSIONS: The plantar pressure characteristics of Tai Chi movements found in this study may be one of the important factors that Tai Chi exercise improves balance control and muscle strength.

Let me see……Tai Chi has a low impact force with fairly even body weight distribution and helps to improve balance and muscle strength! Since these are some of the purposes of the art it is nice that science has verified that Tai Chi is achieving its purpose. Of course after 1,000 or more years of existence I am sure it would be pretty self-evident if it did not accomplish its designed purpose!

All one needs to do to demonstrate these fairly useless findings is to practice Tai Chi themselves!

[Ford Prefect]

Haha! So true.

It's good to see them beginning to study it though.

[Scott R. Brown]

I guess something is better than nothing, but I would rather they study something that needs confirmation.......Hmmmmm....I wonder what that would be??? LOL!!!;)

[omarthefish]

Hmmmm I might be stupid, but so? When you walk your pressure is mostly on your back, when you walk "Tai Chi" style the bending of the knees increase the pressure on your feet. ...

Not possible.

Think it through.

[GeneChing]

For most westerners, taiji is so abstract. There doesn't seem to be much of a purpose to it. Scientific studies validate it to many westerners. More significant, it presents validation to medical, health and especially insurance providers. Imagine more subsidizing from these very affluent industries. It's already starting to happen. My health care provider offers taiji and qigong classes. Even thought it's horribly simplified and over-priced, it's a start. Admittedly, most of these studies are small in scope, but such is the nature of scientific research. Breakthroughs typically happen in small increments; it's very taiji in a fashion.

Anyway, here's another "we knew this already" study. At least it got taiji in the news again.


Tai Chi boosts balance (http://www.canada.com/windsorstar/news/story.html?id=90cd4199-2c52-4553-8a0d-4ebbd94f6946)
Derek DeBono, The Windsor Star
Published: Wednesday, April 30, 2008

A simple fall for an elderly person can be disastrous.

The fitness industry has recognized the importance of balance training for the elderly and has developed many programs and training tools designed to prevent falls and improve the quality of life for our aging population.

These initiatives work to improve balance and are effective in preventing falls, but raise the question: which exercises are most practical and have the longest-lasting benefit?

A recent study headed by Dr. Fuzhong Li, an exercise scientist with the Oregon Research Institute, found the most effective and longest-lasting tool for improving balance in the elderly may also be one of the oldest -- Yang style Tai Chi.

Yang style Tai Chi was first established early in the 19th century as a complex form of martial arts in China. Since ten, it evolved into a simpler version. This modern version consists of 24 body movements done in a continuous fluid motion involving, pushing, pulling, stepping, twisting and turning. Body weight and balance is continuously shifted from one to both legs resembling a slow, rhythmic ballet.

Dr. Li and his researchers studied 175 healthy individuals between 70 and 92, physically inactive for three months before the study. The subjects were required to participate in three

50-minute Tai Chi sessions per week for six months.

The Yang style emphasizes shifting one's body weight in multiple directions, and the co-ordination of movement involving all the major segments of the body, such as the trunk, legs and arms. The sessions also emphasized proper postural alignment and breathing techniques during the movements.

A control group of similar aged subjects performed stretching exercises targeting the same muscle groups as the Tai Chi group, and also focused on postural alignment and proper breathing technique. Stretching was also chosen for its low intensity and social interaction similar to Tai Chi.

At the conclusion of the six-month period, the subjects were given a gait test. This assessed their ability to alter their gait or step in response to the challenges presented in stepping over and around obstacles, changing speed and walking on uneven ground. They were also required to undergo 14 balance-related movements that simulated tasks found in daily living.

In the a follow-up assessment six months after the study, researchers found Tai Chi subjects performed better on all the assessments including lower rates of deterioration of balance compared to the control group. The control group also had more than twice the number of falls than those who participated in Tai Chi.

We don't fully understand the mechanisms that take place to improve balance and co-ordination with Tai Chi, but believe the answer lies in the brain's ability to adapt muscle control through low-intensity movement that requires the constant shifting of weight from one leg to another.

Dr. Li's study establishes that Tai Chi is an exceptional alternative to other exercise programs to improve balance and prevent falls in the elderly.