The Effect of Tai Chi Chuan on Obstacle Crossing Strategy in Older Adults

Age-related reduction in musculoskeletal, cardiovascular, and central nervous system resilience can result in wide-ranging limitations in adaptive capacity associated with negative outcomes such as cognitive decline, increased risk of cardiovascular disease, mobility problems, and increased incidence of debilitating falls. This article reviews the benefits of both cognitive and physical activity within the broad context of multiple system resilience in adult aging. Research on a unique form of combined physical/cognitive exercise, Tai Chi Chuan, is presented. The relationship between physiological and psychological gain associated with an activity intervention program is discussed in light of principles of rehabilitation, intervention compliance, subjective and objective gain, and the hypothesized value of combining physical exercise, cognitive exercise, and relaxation into a single program designed to promote resilience in older adults.

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Home-based Tai Chi Chuan May Reduce Fall Rate Compared to Lower Extremity Exercise Training in Older Adults with History of Falls

EXPLORE ◽

10.1016/j.explore.2016.10.015 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 13 (1) ◽

pp. 79-80

Author(s):

Richard Glickman-Simon

Keyword(s):

Older Adults ◽

Exercise Training ◽

Lower Extremity ◽

Tai Chi ◽

Fall Rate ◽

Tai Chi Chuan ◽

Home Based ◽

History Of

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Determining Whether Tai Chi Chuan is Related to the Updating Function in Older Adults: Differences Between Experts and Novices

10.21203/rs.3.rs-783067/v1 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Yuan Yang ◽

Tingting Chen ◽

Xiaoxia Yuan ◽

Xiaoke Zhong ◽

Shoufu Yan ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Older Adults ◽

Tai Chi ◽

The Elderly ◽

Elderly Subjects ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Tai Chi Chuan ◽

Novice Group ◽

Healthy Elderly ◽

Back Task

Abstract Background: Tai Chi Chuan (TCC) is one effective method used to delay cognitive decline in older adults. However, the relationship between the long-term practice of TCC and the crucial working memory updating function of the brain in the elderly has not been comprehensively researched.Objective: This cross-sectional study explores how behavioral performance in a laboratory setting is related to long term practice of TCC on the updating function in older people using reaction times (RTs) of N-back tasks. Methods: 26 healthy elderly people participated in this experiment. According to the length of time TCC was practiced, 13 subjects in the TCC group had more than 5 years’ experience of TCC exercise, and 13 elderly subjects who had not been systematically exposed to mind-body exercise were assigned to the novice group. The N-back task was administered to every participant to evaluate the updating function. Results: The TCC group had faster RTs compared to the novice group (p<0.05); For the 1-back task, the TCC group showed faster RTs than the novice group. For the 2-back task, the novice group exhibited faster RTs than the TCC group. Conclusions: TCC experts exhibit greater updating function as compared to TCC novices. Long-term TCC appears to be positive associated with the updating function of older adults, making it an effective exercise to maintain cognitive function in the elderly.

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Effects of Tai-Chi Chuan Practice on Patterns and Stability of Lower Limb Inter-Joint Coordination During Obstructed Gait in the Elderly

Frontiers in Bioengineering and Biotechnology ◽

10.3389/fbioe.2021.739722 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 9 ◽

Author(s):

Chien-Chung Kuo ◽

Sheng-Chang Chen ◽

Jr-Yi Wang ◽

Tsung-Jung Ho ◽

Jaung-Geng Lin ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Lower Limb ◽

Tai Chi ◽

The Elderly ◽

Tai Chi Chuan ◽

Obstacle Crossing ◽

Joint Coordination ◽

Angular Velocities ◽

Impact Exercise ◽

Phase Angles

Losing balance or tripping during obstacle-crossing is one of the most frequent causes of falls in the elderly. As a low speed, low impact exercise, Tai Chi Chuan (TCC) can be promising in helping the elderly develop strategies for improved balance, inter-joint coordination, and end-point control during obstacle-crossing. This study investigates the effects of TCC training on the patterns and variability of the lower-limb inter-joint coordination during obstacle-crossing in the elderly. Fifteen older TCC practitioners and 15 healthy controls crossed obstacles of three different heights, while sagittal angles (x) and angular velocities (x′) of the hips, knees and ankles were measured and their phase angles obtained. The continuous relative phases (CRP) of the hip-knee and knee-ankle coordination were also calculated. The standard deviations of the CRP curve points were averaged to obtain deviation phase (DP) values for the stance and swing phases. The TCC group was found to cross obstacles with increased leading and trailing toe-clearances with unaltered CRP values when the swing toe was above the obstacle. Long-term TCC training altered the patterns and magnitudes of the CRPs primarily over double-limb support and significantly reduced the variabilities of leading knee-ankle and trailing hip-knee and knee-ankle CRP curves over the crossing cycle, regardless of obstacle height. The current results suggest that long-term TCC practice was helpful for a crossing strategy with significantly increased foot-obstacle clearances and reduced variability of the way the motions of the lower limb joints are coordinated during obstacle-crossing. These benefits may be explained by the long-lasting effects of continuous practice of the slow movement patterns emphasizing between-limb transfer of body weight in TCC.

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