The Specific and Nonspecific Effects of Tai Chi and Its Possible Central Responses: A Protocol of Neuroimaging Study

Tai Chi has been proven to be a safe and effective assistant therapy for healthcare and disease treatment. However, whether the adjuvant therapeutic effect of Tai Chi is general or disease-oriented remains uncertain. This trial focuses on exploring the specific and nonspecific effects of Tai Chi and its potential central responses. The results will deepen our understanding of the characteristics of Tai Chi exercise for adjuvant therapeutic effects and promote its application in the clinic. In this neuroimaging trial, 40 functional constipation (FC) patients and 40 healthy subjects (HS) will be recruited and will receive 10 weeks of Tai Chi exercise. The motor function, respiratory function, stool-related symptoms, quality of life, and emotional state of the participants will be evaluated at the baseline, the 5-week Tai Chi practice, and the end of practice. The potential changes in the heart rate variability and the cerebral function will be recorded by the 24 h dynamic electrocardiogram at the baseline and the functional magnetic resonance imaging at the end of practice. The possible correlations among the clinical variables, the heart rate variability, and the cerebral activity alterations in FC patients and HS will be analyzed. The healthcare and therapeutic effects of Tai Chi exercise might consist of the specific and nonspecific effects. This study provides not only a new perspective for understanding Tai Chi but also a new approach for investigating the mind-body exercise. This trial was registered in the Chinese Clinical Trial Registry (http://www.chictr.org.cn/showproj.aspx?proj=33243) on 28 November 2018 (registration number: ChiCTR1800019781; protocol version number: V1.0). This trial is currently in the stage of recruiting patients. The first patient was included on 1 December 2018. To date, 18 FC patients and 20 HS have been included. Recruitment will be completed in December 2020.

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Effects of the Ai Chi and Tai Chi Exercise of Elderly Women on the Heart Rate Variability

Health & Welfare ◽

10.23948/kshw.2019.12.21.4.273 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 21 (4) ◽

pp. 273-286

Author(s):

Si-Kyoung Lee

Keyword(s):

Heart Rate ◽

Heart Rate Variability ◽

Tai Chi ◽

Elderly Women ◽

Tai Chi Exercise

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Effects of Tai Chi exercise on heart rate variability

Complementary Therapies in Clinical Practice ◽

10.1016/j.ctcp.2016.03.007 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 23 ◽

pp. 59-63 ◽

Cited By ~ 9

Author(s):

Aimee R. Cole ◽

Karn Wijarnpreecha ◽

Siriporn C. Chattipakorn ◽

Nipon Chattipakorn

Keyword(s):

Heart Rate ◽

Heart Rate Variability ◽

Tai Chi ◽

Tai Chi Exercise

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Heart rate variability analysis for the identification of the preictal interval in patients with drug-resistant epilepsy

Scientific Reports ◽

10.1038/s41598-021-85350-y ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Adriana Leal ◽

Mauro F. Pinto ◽

Fábio Lopes ◽

Anna M. Bianchi ◽

Jorge Henriques ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Heart Rate ◽

Heart Rate Variability ◽

Linear Time ◽

Epileptic Seizures ◽

Heart Rate Variability Analysis ◽

Drug Resistant ◽

Clustering Methods ◽

Temporal Lobe Seizures ◽

New Perspective ◽

Drug Resistant Epilepsy

AbstractElectrocardiogram (ECG) recordings, lasting hours before epileptic seizures, have been studied in the search for evidence of the existence of a preictal interval that follows a normal ECG trace and precedes the seizure’s clinical manifestation. The preictal interval has not yet been clinically parametrized. Furthermore, the duration of this interval varies for seizures both among patients and from the same patient. In this study, we performed a heart rate variability (HRV) analysis to investigate the discriminative power of the features of HRV in the identification of the preictal interval. HRV information extracted from the linear time and frequency domains as well as from nonlinear dynamics were analysed. We inspected data from 238 temporal lobe seizures recorded from 41 patients with drug-resistant epilepsy from the EPILEPSIAE database. Unsupervised methods were applied to the HRV feature dataset, thus leading to a new perspective in preictal interval characterization. Distinguishable preictal behaviour was exhibited by 41% of the seizures and 90% of the patients. Half of the preictal intervals were identified in the 40 min before seizure onset. The results demonstrate the potential of applying clustering methods to HRV features to deepen the current understanding of the preictal state.

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Abstract P161: Tai Chi Movements Bring On Parasympathetic Nerve Output As Indicated By Audible Bowel Sounds

Circulation ◽

10.1161/circ.143.suppl_1.p161 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 143 (Suppl_1) ◽

Author(s):

Desuo Wang

Keyword(s):

Heart Rate ◽

Nervous System ◽

Sympathetic Nervous System ◽

Tai Chi ◽

Parasympathetic Nervous System ◽

Autonomic Nerve ◽

Parasympathetic Nerve ◽

Bowel Sounds ◽

Sympathetic Nervous ◽

Tai Chi Exercise

Tai Chi movements are unique exercise that can improve cognition, strength somatomotor coordination, and enhance autonomic nerve regulation on internal organ function. The mild increase in heart rate and/or slight sweat during and after practicing Tai Chi indicates the activation of the sympathetic nervous system. There is lack of evidence to show that Tai Chi exercise enhances the activity of parasympathetic nervous system though it has been claimed that practicing Tai Chi could do so. The author tested the hypothesis that Tai Chi exercise brings on an increase in parasympathetic nerve outputs (PNO). The PNO is evaluated by recording the bowel sounds using an audio recorder (Sony digital voice recorder ICD-PX Series) and the data analyses were done using NCH software (WavePad audio editor). The heart rate was simultaneously recorded using a fingertip pulse oximeter (Zacurate Pro Series 500DL) during Tai Chi exercise. All the data was repeatedly collected from a Tai Chi Master in a study period of 6 months. A total of 30 recordings were used to carry out the analysis. The audible bowel sounds occurred when the performer started to do the Ready-Movement of Yang-style Tai Chi. These Tai Chi induced-bowel sounds lasted from the beginning to the end of a set of movements (3-5 min for 24-moves style). The frequency of bowel sounds was in a range of 0.2 to 3.5 Hz. The average number of bowel sounds was approximately 2.5 sounds per Tai Chi Move. The intensity and frequency of the bowel sounds are not related to the change of the performer’s heart rate. In comparison, meditation or deep squat exercise performed by the Tai Chi master did not cause any changes in the bowel sounds. According to the autonomic innervation of the GI tract, increase of bowel movements is mediated by PNO. In conclusion, Tai Chi movements can simultaneously exercise skeletal muscles, sympathetic nervous system and parasympathetic nervous system. The enhancement of parasympathetic nervous system output by Tai Chi exercise is a valuable modality of physical exercise for wellness.

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Heart rate and heart rate variability responses to Tai Chi and jogging in Beijing and Graz

North American Journal of Medical Sciences ◽

10.4297/najms.2011.370 ◽

2011 ◽

pp. 70-74 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Gerhard Litscher ◽

MSc. MSc. ◽

PhD. PhD. ◽

MDsc MDsc ◽

Weibo Zhang ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Heart Rate ◽

Heart Rate Variability ◽

Tai Chi

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Heart-rate variability changes in survivors of nasopharyngeal cancer during Tai Chi Qigong practice

Physiotherapy ◽

10.1016/j.physio.2015.03.620 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 101 ◽

pp. e394-e395

Author(s):

S.S.M. Fong ◽

J.W.Y. Chung ◽

W.S. Luk ◽

D.J. MacFarlane

Keyword(s):

Heart Rate ◽

Heart Rate Variability ◽

Tai Chi ◽

Nasopharyngeal Cancer

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Effect of Acupuncture at Ht7 on Heart Rate Variability: An Exploratory Study

Acupuncture in Medicine ◽

10.1136/acupmed-2013-010441 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 33 (1) ◽

pp. 30-35 ◽

Cited By ~ 13

Author(s):

Huanlin Huang ◽

Zheng Zhong ◽

Junqi Chen ◽

Yong Huang ◽

Jixuan Luo ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Heart Rate ◽

Heart Rate Variability ◽

Low Frequency ◽

Sham Acupuncture ◽

Acupuncture Group ◽

Control Groups ◽

Parasympathetic System ◽

Registration Number ◽

Frequency Components ◽

Random Number Table

Objective To explore the effect of acupuncture at HT7 on heart rate variability (HRV) in healthy volunteers. Methods 120 subjects were divided into four groups using a random number table. The following groups of acupuncture interventions were used: HT7 verum acupuncture; HT7 non-penetrating sham acupuncture; acupuncture at a sham point; and no acupuncture. HRV was recorded 10 min before, during and after each stimulation using an Actiheart ECG recorder. Results The HT7 verum acupuncture group had higher very-low frequency, low frequency and high frequency components of HRV compared with the control groups during but not after acupuncture. The HT7 verum acupuncture group also had higher SD of normal intervals compared with the sham needling and no acupuncture control groups. Conclusions Our preliminary study suggests, subject to limitations, that acupuncture at HT7 could affect cardiac autonomic neural regulation in healthy subjects, manifest as increased HRV, most likely via the parasympathetic system. Trial Registration Number ChiCTR-TRC-08000302.

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Psychophysiology of slow breathing exercises using heart rate variability measurements for stress reduction

International Journal of Whole Person Care ◽

10.26443/ijwpc.v3i2.117 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 3 (2) ◽

Author(s):

Dante Jr. Guanlao Simbulan

Keyword(s):

Heart Rate ◽

Heart Rate Variability ◽

Respiratory Rate ◽

Stress Reduction ◽

Tai Chi ◽

Chronically Ill ◽

Positive Sign ◽

Breathing Exercises ◽

Skin Response ◽

Slow Breathing

Slow breathing exercises, associated with meditation and other eastern style modalities like tai chi and hatha yoga, are now increasingly employed in mainstream medicine to reduce stress, attenuate moderate hypertension, and alleviate symptoms of lifestyle-related illnesses. The clinical literature on slow breathing exercises includes studies employing various physiological measurements, including heart rate variability (HRV), galvanic skin response, and changes in skin temperature. HRV has been increasingly used to measure the activity of the autonomic nervous system in various human studies employing healthy and chronically ill subjects. 1. Objective: To understand the effects of slow breathing exercises on heart rate variability as a complementary intervention for stress reduction. 2. Method: Four subjects, through repetitive trials, were instructed to slow down their breathing following a metronome at 10 breaths per minute or 6 breaths per minute or spontaneously relax to slow down their respiratory rate. The ECG, heart rate, and respiratory rate were recorded using a Powerlab set-up (ADI). 3. Key Results: Results showed an increase in amplitude of heart rate variability during these slow breathing exercises, either through the metronome-guided or spontaneous slow-breathing exercises, especially around a breathing frequency of 6 breaths per minute. The increased amplitude of heart rate variability can be seen as a positive sign, a marker for sympathovagal balance. 4. Conclusion: HRV measurements have shown that slow breathing exercises can increase heart rate variability. Future protocols for clinical trials are being projected using the HRV technique and other physiological measurements for studying effects of yoga-based complementary interventions for stress reduction.

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“The immediate effect of neutral spinal compress on heart rate variability in hypertensive individuals”

Journal of Complementary and Integrative Medicine ◽

10.1515/jcim-2021-0162 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 0 (0) ◽

Author(s):

Poornima Bansal ◽

Sujatha Kannarpady Janardan ◽

Prashanth Shetty

Keyword(s):

Blood Pressure ◽

Heart Rate ◽

Heart Rate Variability ◽

High Frequency ◽

Conventional Medicine ◽

Medical Condition ◽

Low Frequency ◽

Chronic Medical Condition ◽

Clinical Trial Registry ◽

And Shifts

Abstract Objectives Hypertension (HTN) is considered as chronic medical condition. Because of the increased complications associated with the conventional medicine, the effects of naturopathic modalities were emphasized to prevent and minimize those adverse effects. This study was done to assess the immediate effect of neutral spinal compress on heart rate variability and blood pressure and thereby to substantiate the clinical understanding of its effect in hypertensive individuals. Methods Hundred hypertensive individuals were recruited for the study. Subjects were assessed for Blood Pressure (BP) and Heart Rate Variability (HRV) before and immediately after the intervention of 20 min. Results Result shows significant reduction in mean Heart Rate (HR) (p<0.001), Low Frequency (LF) (p<0.001), Low Frequency/High Frequency (LF/HF) (p<0.001), Systolic blood pressure (SBP) (p<0.001) and Diastolic blood pressure (DBP) (p<0.001) and significant increase in mean R-R interval (Mean RR) (p<0.001) and High frequency (HF) (p<0.001) components of Heart Rate Variability after neutral spinal compress intervention. Conclusions The results of the study reported that full neutral spinal compress reduces the sympathetic tone and shifts the Sympatho-vagal balance in favor of parasympathetic dominance and hence it can be concluded that neutral spinal compress can be effectively used in the management of hypertension. Trial registration Clinical Trial Registry- India (CTRI); CTRI Reg. No- CTRI/2020/01/022639.

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