Article

OBJECTIVES: To examine the effects of Tai Chi on balance and functional mobility
in people with Parkinson's disease, and determine whether fall incidence could be
reduced by the Tai Chi exercise. DESIGN: Single blinded randomized control trial
with 6 months' follow-up. SETTING: A hospital and general community.
PARTICIPANTS: Patients (n=76) diagnosed with idiopathic Parkinson's disease, over
40 years old, able to walk independently and fell at least one time during the
past 12 months. INTERVENTIONS: The Tai Chi group (n=37) received 24-form Yang
style Tai Chi exercise for 60 minutes each time, three times a week and lasted
for 12 weeks. The control group (n=39) received no intervention. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Berg Balance Scale (BBS), Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale
(UPDRS) III, Timed Up&Go (TUG) and occurrences of falls. RESULTS: The Tai Chi
group improved more than the control group on the BBS (p<0.05), but there was no
difference on UPDRS III scores and Timed Up&Go (p>0.05). During the 6-month
follow-up, only 8 (21.6%) out of 37 patients in the Tai Chi group had experience
of falls comparing to 19 (48.7%) out of 39 patients in the control group
(p<0.05). The average times of falls were 0.30+/-0.62 in the Tai Chi group
compared with 0.64+/-0.74 in the control group (p<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Our
findings suggested that Tai Chi exercise could improve the balance and decrease
the fall risks in patients with Parkinson's disease.
CI - (c) The Author(s) 2014.

Langue : ANGLAIS