What the research says

Tai chi is growing in popularity in the UK, with more clubs and classes springing up across the country and people of all ages wanting to try it.

It has been practiced for years in China, often by large groups in parks. Tai chi or “taiji” is a form of qi gong, an umbrella term for ancient traditional Chinese practices of self-cultivation and energy preservation. And it is different from the martial art form known as “Tai Chi Chuan” or “Taijiquan”. Tai chi is an "exercise of body and mind". Make slow, smooth, flowing movements with your body. As you do this, you focus on your movements and your breathing and forget about the stresses of life.

Anyone can practice tai chi. It is suitable and safe for people of all ages and abilities, although it may need to be adapted for certain people or if you have a medical condition.

What the research says

Many claims have been made about the benefits of tai chi.

Studies have found, for example, that tai chi improves balance and prevents falls, a key issue for older people, as falls can lead to hip fracture and fear of going outside independently.

Research has also suggested that tai chi may be good for reducing pain, for example in people with rheumatoid arthritis. And that it can also help prevent cardiovascular disease, be effective in the rehabilitation of coronary heart disease and help relieve breathing difficulties in people with a long-term lung problem.

Additionally, it has been suggested that tai chi may improve mental health by reducing symptoms of depression and anxiety and improving overall stress management. Research has also suggested that it might help improve the way you feel physically and mentally.

However, despite these reported benefits, much of the previous research on tai chi has been of poor quality, with unclear results or a high risk of bias due to the way the studies were conducted, for example , not ensuring that people are randomly assigned to a tai chi or control group. This is important, as there need not be any differences between people in the two groups, apart from whether or not they do tai chi. Without such controls, it is difficult for researchers to draw precise conclusions. So while current studies suggest that tai chi may offer health benefits, more evidence is needed to really say if this is the case.

Tai chi and dementia

Tai chi has also been touted as a possible method to help prevent dementia or slow the progression of the disease. Studies, for example, have shown that it can improve cognitive functioning, such as better performance on tests of speed in understanding and responding to information, attention, and memory for current tasks.

And tai chi is also considered to have the potential to slow the decline in cognitive functioning associated with dementia. In fact, a 2015 study found that people who did aerobic exercise or a mind-body exercise like tai chi were less likely to have dementia six years later.

Recently, I led a team to study the benefits of tai chi for people with dementia. People in our study were able to learn tai chi and enjoyed the sessions; Research shows that finding a form of physical activity that you enjoy increases the likelihood that you will start and maintain a physically active lifestyle. We also found that tai chi had great potential to reduce falls and maintain good quality of life in older people with dementia.

We avoided the risks of bias in earlier studies by conducting a gold standard study (a randomized controlled trial). Although it was a small study to determine if it is worth investing in a larger and more expensive randomized controlled trial. So we hope to conduct another study in the future to confirm our results in a larger study.

Although the evidence so far does not strongly support any one idea why tai chi can improve brain health, and only a few studies have been conducted with people who have dementia, there are several theories as to why tai chi might improve brain health. can improve brain health. For example, tai chi involves learning and remembering new movements. It requires sustained attention and multitasking. Its relaxing aspect is like mindfulness or "moving meditation." The aerobic aspect of exercise could also improve the efficiency and flexibility of neural connections in the brain. But it is not yet known whether tai chi is better at improving these aspects than other types of exercise and mindful activities.

What is clear, however, is that tai chi should be encouraged, as it is safe, easy to learn, enjoyable, and has great potential for comprehensive health benefits. What is needed now is more high-quality research that allows firm conclusions to be drawn about how much our overall health improves.

_{This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.}