Study Finds Tai Chi Helpful for Parkinson's Disease

Tai Chi has been shown time and time again in both clinical studies and in real world applications to provide a myriad of health benefits.  One very common aspect to study is to improve balance and coordination in large part to avoid falls in the elderly which is a significant problem.  Researchers from the Oregon Research Institute recently conducted a study looking at the effects of Tai Chi on stability in patients with Parkinson's Disease specifically.

Within this study, researchers assigned 195 patients with parkinson's (staged 1 to 4) to one of three different groups - a tai chi treatment group, a resistance training group and a stretching group.  Patients conducted 2 hour long exercise sessions per week for 24 weeks.  Assessments were taken involving strength, coordination, etc. before and after the intervention.

Researchers found that those in the Tai Chi group significantly outperformed both of the other interventions in every aspect and these benefits were maintained for at least 3 months after the conclusion of the study.