Tai Chi Chuan to improve muscular strength and endurance in elderly individuals: A pilot study

doi:10.1016/S0003-9993(00)90042-X

Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation

Volume 81, Issue 5, May 2000, Pages 604-607

https://doi.org/10.1016/S0003-9993(00)90042-X Get rights and content

Abstract

Lan C, Lai J-S, Chen S-Y, Wong M-K. Tai chi chuan to improve muscular strength and endurance in elderly individuals: a pilot study. Arch Phys Med Rehabil 2000;81:604-7. Objective: To evaluate the training effect of a Tai Chi Chuan (TCC) program on knee extensor muscular strength and endurance in elderly individuals. Design: Before-after trial. Setting: Community setting. Participants: Forty-one community dwelling subjects aged 61.1 ± 9.8 years undertook a TCC program. Nine dropped out during the study. Pretraining and posttraining measurements were obtained from 15 men and 17 women. Intervention: Subjects participated in a 6-month TCC program. Each session consisted of 20 minutes of warm-up, 24 minutes of structured TCC training, and 10 minutes of cool-down exercises. Main Outcome Measures: Peak torque of dominant and nondominant knee extensors was tested at speeds of 60°, 180°, and 240°/sec concentrically and eccentrically. Muscular endurance of the knee extensor was tested at the speed of 180°/sec. Results: In the group of men, concentric knee extensor peak torque increased by 15.1% to 20.0% and eccentric peak torque increased by 15.1% to 23.7%. The group of women also showed increases, ranging from 13.5% to 21.8% in concentric peak torque, and 18.3% to 23.8% in eccentric peak torque. In addition, the knee extensor endurance ratio increased by 9.6% to 18.8% in the men and 10.1% to 14.6% in the women. Conclusion: TCC training may enhance muscular strength and endurance of knee extensors in elderly individuals. © 2000 by the American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine and the American Academy of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation

Section snippets

Subjects

Persons aged 50 years or older who lived in Taipei were eligible for this study. Recruitment strategies included mailings to members of local senior centers or telephone contact to previous study participants. Medical and physical activity histories were obtained by questionnaire from the volunteers. Exclusion criteria included angina pectoris, history of myocardial infarction or stroke, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, uncontrolled diabetes and hypertension, osteoarthritis of hip or

Results

Forty-one subjects volunteered to participate in this study. Among the volunteers, 32 (78%) subjects aged 53 to 64 years completed a 6-month TCC training. One group comprised 15 men, age 62.5 ± 8.2yrs; the other group consisted of 17 women, age 60.0 ± 8.7yrs. Table 1 summarizes the baseline characteristics of each group.

. Baseline data of the subjects

Empty Cell	Men (n = 15)	Women (n = 17)
Physiologic variables
Age (yrs)	62.5 ± 8.2	60.0 ± 8.7
Body height (cm)	166.5 ± 5.4	153.8 ± 5.6
Body weight (kg)	66.5 ± 7.5	57.9 ±

Discussion

Muscular strength is important for daily activities. However, maximal muscular strength gradually declines after 50 years of age. It declines faster in the lower body than in the upper body.¹⁹ Losses of lower body strength are a bigger problem than losses of upper body strength because of the increased risk of falling. In addition, strength during concentric contractions declines to a greater extent than strength during eccentric contractions.²⁰ This may explain why elderly people experience

Acknowledgements

The authors thank Professor S.H. Tang (School of Physical Education, National Taiwan Normal University) for his kind assistance in TCC training.

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The practice of Tai Chi activates various health recovery mechanisms and self-healing capacity (Jahnke et al., 2010). Many studies also reported that Tai Chi improves health-related outcomes including muscular strength (Lan et al., 2000), balance and flexibility (Hartman et al., 2000), cardiorespiratory function (Yeh et al., 2004) and psychological well-being (Lee, 2004) among older adults with chronic diseases. To-date, limited reviews were done on Tai Chi for older adults with chronic diseases, and findings were inconclusive (Chen et al., 2015; Ćwiękała-Lewis et al., 2017; Wang et al., 2004; Wang et al., 2010; Wang et al., 2015).
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To synthesise and evaluate effectiveness of Tai Chi on QoL, depressive symptoms and physical function among community-dwelling older adults with chronic disease.
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A total of 3416 records were generated and 13 RCTs were eligible for inclusion. Meta-analysis reported statistically significant small effect size favouring Tai Chi on QoL and depressive symptoms. No statistically significant differences were seen for mobility and endurance of physical function. Majority had high heterogeneity hence findings should be interpreted carefully.
Tai Chi was found to have favourable effects on QoL and depressive symptoms of older adults with chronic disease which can act as a complement to disease management. However, future research can be improved to explore theoretical framework and include high-quality studies with larger sample sizes.
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^☆: Supported by a grant from the National Science Council of the Republic of China (NSC-84-0412-B002-087).

^☆☆: No commercial party having a direct financial interest in the results of the research supporting this article has or will confer a benefit upon the authors or upon any organization with which the authors are associated.

^★: Reprint requests to Ching Lan, MD, Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, National Taiwan University Hospital, 7 Chung-Shan South Road, Taipei, Taiwan 10016.

^★★: Supplier

^♢: a. Cybex, Division of Lumex, Inc., 2100 Smithtown Avenue, Ronkonkoma, NY 11779.

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ArticlesTai Chi Chuan to improve muscular strength and endurance in elderly individuals: A pilot study☆,☆☆,★,★★,♢

Abstract

Section snippets

Subjects

Results

Discussion

Acknowledgements

Arch Gerontol Geriatr

Arch Phys Med Rehabil

Arch Phys Med Rehabil

J Psychosom Res

J Psychosom Res

Arch Phys Med Rehabil

Arch Phys Med Rehabil

Factors predicting fractures during falling impacts among home-dwelling older adults

J Am Geriatr Soc

Increased prevalence of all fall risk factors in older people following hip fracture

Gerontology

Cardiovascular responses of 70- to 79-yr-old men and women to exercise training

J Appl Physiol

A home-based exercise program for nondisabled older adults

J Am Geriatr Soc

Strength conditioning in older men: skeletal muscle hypertrophy and improved function

J Appl Physiol

Training can improve muscle strength and endurance in 78- to 84-yr-old men

J Appl Physiol

Strength and muscle mass changes in elderly men following maximal isokinetic training

Gerontology

Articles
Tai Chi Chuan to improve muscular strength and endurance in elderly individuals: A pilot study☆,☆☆,★,★★,♢