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eLearning Series:
I'm an Active Senior
Who Wants To Stay Healthy
( 50 aticles in this series )
Tai
Chi For Seniors
Tai
Chi, an ancient Chinese martial art that consists of a
series of very slow, gentle, and continuous movements,
is highly suitable as a low-impact exercise activity for senior
citizens. Practicing the ancient art enables older people to
develop stronger muscles and increase both their balance and
concentration. Therefore, this low-impact activity helps the
elderly regain physical functioning that may have been lost
during periods of inactivity.
One recent
study involved 72 people between the ages of 65
and 96. One group was given an hour-long class twice a week
for a period of six months while the second group was promised
a four-week class at the end of the study. Even with this low-impact
program being held only twice a week, significant improvements
emerged after just three months. More importantly, benefits
improved additionally as the study moved to six months of participation,
a clear indication that additional health gains could be derived
from a longer periods of participation.
These findings contrasted with previous research on exercise
programs that suggested much longer periods of time were needed
to show significant improvements. At the completion of the
study, the Tai Chi students demonstrated increased confidence
in their ability to perform more vigorous exercises. Also in
sharp contrast to previous research regarding exercise programs
where data indicated that half of all sedentary people are
unable to maintain their newly adopted exercise program, only
18 percent of participants in the Tai Chi class dropped out
of the program.
The research from the study appears to indicate that Tai
Chi is a more attractive form of fitness activity for an
aging
population. In fact, class members called the lessons a positive
experience, with many reporting wide ranging benefits that
increased personal energy and while also relaxing them at the
same time.
In considering Tai Chi as an exercise method, consider the
following results of this second study published in a recent
article in the Journal of Advanced Nursing. A study of fall-prone
senior citizens, living in residential care with an average
age of 78, examined 59 individuals. Twenty-nine members of
the test group were given a 12-week Tai Chi course, three times
a week. Thirty members of the test study formed a non-exercise
control group.
The twenty-nine member group involved in Tai Chi showed
significant improvement in their physical fitness. Among the many improvements
were stronger knee and ankle muscles, increased mobility and
flexibility, and perhaps most importantly, better balance.
After the exercise program had finished, the time taken by
the Tai Chi group to walk six meters had fallen by 25 per cent,
while the control group took 14 per cent longer.
The exercise program used in the research consisted of a 35
minute total workout. Subjects began with 10 minutes of warm
up then followed that up with, 20 minutes of Sun-style Tai
Chi movement. To complete the workout, the active group finished
with five minutes of cooling down exercises. While involved
with the exercises, traditional instrumental music was played
as an aid to help the group maintain the slow and continuous
movements that Tai Chi demands.
Prior to the 12-week exercise program and then again after
it had been completed, both groups underwent a number of physical
tests to assess their muscle strength, balance and confidence
in avoiding falls. The study’s participants also reported any
falls that they experienced during the 12-week period. While
31 per cent of the exercise group said they had had a fall,
the non-fitness oriented group reported a 50 per cent fall
rate. These numbers contrasted significantly with those from
data taken the year before the research was done. While the
control group had an almost identical 57 per cent fall rate
the prior year, the exercise group had reported that 66 per
cent of them had had a fall.
Even
a low-intensity exercise such as Tai Chi has enormous potential
for increased health in seniors. Because it helps
older people avoid falls through the development of balance
and muscle strength, the martial arts exercise would also help
keep seniors from the bone fractures that often accompany such
falls. Perhaps most importantly, it is precisely the low-impact,
modestly strenuous activity that is actually reasonable for
previously sedentary seniors to do without overloading their
bodies with too much physical stress. # # # # #
SolveYourProblem.com
: 2006
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