MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS.
Mindfulness-based interventions in multiple sclerosis: beneficial effects of Tai Chi on balance, coordination, fatigue and depression
The Tai Chi 10-form is safe and feasible for a six-months intervention period with MS patients. Tai Chi may have beneficial effects on balance, coordination and psychological well-being in patients with MS.
- National Institutes of Health, August 2014
TAI CHI SHOWN TO IMPROVE BALANCE
AND STRENGTH IN MS PATIENTS
Multiple Sclerosis News Today Magazine
Researchers at Texas Woman's University identified tai chi as a beneficial therapy for multiple sclerosis (MS) patients with impaired balance, as it can improve their endurance and strength and decrease fatigue. The results of the study, "The Benefit of Tai Chi for Balance and Gait in People with Multiple Sclerosis," were recently presented at the 2016 Annual Meeting of the Consortium of Multiple Sclerosis Centers (CMSC), in the session Rehabilitation Interventions ...
http://multiplesclerosisnewstoday.com/2016/06/08/cmsc16-rh05-benefit-tai-chi-balance-gait-people-multiple-sclerosis/
MS World article on one woman's positive experience with Tai Chi in dealing with her Multiple Sclerosis
I was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis ... I found out that the disease could mean progressive debilitation and that there were no medicines to cure me ... I went to physical therapy, continued to work with a personal trainer, and spent time in the pool. I lost some mobility and balance. My progressively debilitating condition was progressively debilitating ...
... I heard about Tai Chi as a helpful activity for people with MS ...
... When I began taking Tai Chi, I found it necessary to sit for most of the class. As I attended more classes, I was standing more and sitting less. Instead of moving my feet, I shifted my weight. Then one day, I was able to move laterally. It was hesitant, but I was moving.
My classmates commented that I was standing straighter. And I noticed that without losing weight, I was slimming down. It appeared that there might be something to Tai Chi ...
My multiple sclerosis appears to have stopped progressing. My balance has improved, I stand straighter, and I can walk for longer periods of time. I feel good about myself. Tai Chi has become my companion and I am so grateful.
READ ENTIRE ARTICLE AT MSWORLD ...
https://msworld.org/creative-center/?content=tai-chi-and-me
STUDY: Effect of Tai Chi Chuan on balance in women with multiple sclerosis
Objective
To examine the effect of Tai Chi Chuan on balance in women with multiple sclerosis in Iran.
Design
36 women with multiple sclerosis who were members of the Iranian Multiple Sclerosis Society participated in this study. 18 participants were allocated to the intervention group and 18 allocated to the control group. The intervention consisted of Yang style Tai Chi Chuan exercise sessions twice a week for 12 weeks.
Discussion:
The study results indicated a beneficial effect of Tai Chi intervention on MS patients' balance. This finding is consistent with the results of Mills et al. preliminary study [7], which reported a significant improvement in balance of MS patients after Tai Chi intervention. Also, Maciaszek et al., in a randomized clinical trial, studied the effect of Tai Chi on body balance in patients with Osteopenia or Osteoporosis and reported a significant improvement in patients' balance in the intervention group [22]. Moreover, Hye-Jung Choi et al. study results on therapeutic effects of Tai Chi in patients with Parkinson's disease showed that there was a significant interaction effect on balance and agility in the Tai Chi group [23] and also Nguyen et al., in a randomized controlled trial, studied the effects of Tai chi exercise on balance, sleep quality and cognitive performance in community-dwelling elderly and reported a significant improvement in their balance score [24].
Read source abstract of this study at ScienceDirect ...
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1744388114000632
STUDY: Does Tai Chi/Qi Gong help patients with
Multiple Sclerosis?
Abstract Tai Chi posture, has recently been shown in a number of random controlled trials to improve balance, posture, vigour and general well-being in a variety of client groups. These are problems commonly encountered by people with Multiple Sclerosis. The present study was therefore designed as a pilot evaluation of the usefulness of Tai Chi/Qi Gong for people with Multiple Sclerosis. Eight individuals with Multiple Sclerosis were monitored over a 2-month baseline and 2-month intervention. Statistically signi®cant pre to post improvements for the group as a whole were achieved on measures of depression and balance. A 21-item symptom check-list indicated small improvements over a broad range of other self-rated symptoms.
Read entire abstract at
http://www.taichi-utrecht.nl/docs/taiji-ms.pdf
MS support groups recommend T'ai Chi.
Tai chi. The National Multiple Sclerosis Society (NMSS) reports that people with multiple sclerosis have used tai chi as a way to improve balance, and studies non-specific to MS indicate that tai chi can help not only with balance but with blood pressure and heart health as well. A staple of Chinese fitness, tai chi uses a series of slow, controlled movements to build muscle tone and increase flexibility. NMSS recommends tai chi for its adaptive nature. In fact, wheelchair tai chi is gaining in popularity in China and other countries.
-- Everyday Health, MS Exercise: Staying Safe, Dec. 2011
by Connie Brichford, Medically reviewed by
Cynthia Haines, MD
Read entire article ...
In the opinion of the Committee, tai chi is a low-moderate cost, generally well-tolerated therapy that has produced improvement in multiple symptoms in one small MS study. Larger and more rigorous studies are needed.
-- Multiple Sclerosis International Federation
Read entire report ...
Does Tai Chi/Qi Gong help patients
with Multiple Sclerosis?
Journal of Bodywork and Movement Therapies, Volume 4, Issue 1, Pages 39-48Abstract
Tai Chi posture, has recently been shown in a number of random controlled trials to improve balance, posture, vigour and general well-being in a variety of client groups. These are problems commonly encountered by people with Multiple Sclerosis. The present study was therefore designed as a pilot evaluation of the usefulness of Tai Chi/Qi Gong for people with Multiple Sclerosis. Eight individuals with Multiple Sclerosis were monitored over a 2-month baseline and 2-month intervention. Statistically significant pre to post improvements for the group as a whole were achieved on measures of depression and balance. A 21-item symptom check-list indicated small improvements over a broad range of other self-rated symptoms.
http://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S1360859299901390
A small 1999 study found that t'ai chi may be beneficial for people with MS. This study, conducted at the American College of Traditional Chinese Medicine in San Francisco, examined the effects of an eight-week t'ai chi group program on 19 people with MS. People were accepted into the study regardless of the severity of their disability. T'ai chi improved emotional and social function and produced physical benefits, with a 21 percent improvement in walking speed and a 28 percent decrease in muscle stiffness. Comments obtained from participants indicated that the group experience itself was an important component of the program. The results of this study are promising, but there are limitations.
-- National Multiple Sclerosis Society
Read entire page ...
Recent clinical studies have confirmed that tai chi produces measurable benefits in improving balance, lowering blood pressure and improving cardiovascular health. None of these studies involved people with MS, however. Make sure you talk to your health care provider before you begin tai chi or any exercise program.
Working on balance
The New York City-Southern New York Chapter has been offering a tai chi class for several years. Domingo Colon, the instructor, has been teaching tai chi for more than 25 years and has adapted the traditional forms to accommodate students at all levels of ability. Many members of his MS class rely on wheelchairs for mobility. Most have problems with balance.
Improving proprioception, which is our perception of movement and spatial orientation, is a central goal of Colon’s MS tai chi class. This sense of orientation can be extremely valuable to people with MS, who often face the problem of inconsistent perceptions of their sense of touch and balance. The tai chi philosophy stresses that balance is not only a physical achievement, but a mental one as well. Some of the most important types of balance can be accessed with sitting exercises.
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MS Testimonial Video Shown at the National MS Society Event
held at the University of Kansas Medical School
It includes testimonials of students attending the Kansas University Hospital Turning Point, Center for Hope & Healing Tai Chi & Qigong Program for Parkinson's & Multiple Sclerosis & other health issues.
Also in the below video, meet Gary Paruszkiewicz. Gary could only move with the assistance of a wheel chair and cane, and was on heavy doses of drug therapies, when first diagnosed with MS. Today, Gary is a Tai Chi teacher, and you would have no idea Gary has MS.
Susan Martin -- has multiple sclerosis and for years, she couldn't walk. She was in a wheelchair full-time.
On good days she had enough leg strength to transfer without help between the wheelchair and the bed, or the couch, or the toilet. On bad days, she didn't.
Now, she can walk again.
She's slow and wobbly, she can't go long distances and some days are better than others. But she's walking. She uses a scooter, a manual wheelchair or a walker to get from one place to another. Once there, she walks, with a cane or increasingly, without -- around our condo, at the Taoist Tai Chi Society, in shops and restaurants in the West End or downtown Vancouver, on the ferries and, to her immense joy, on the hard, wet sand when the tide goes out at Cox Bay.
She gives credit to Tai Chi.
-- Vancouver Sun, by William Boei, October 2003.
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* NOTE: World Tai Chi & Qigong Day advises consulting your physician before beginning any new exercise, herbal, diet, or health program. The research listed here is meant to stimulate a discussion between you and your physician, health insurance carrier, etc., not as medical advise. Research and comments provided here are hoped to stimulate a more robust discussion of powerful natural mind/body health tools.
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