FIBROMYALGIA.
Tai Chi: Best Fibromyalgia Treatment?
Study Shows Fibromyalgia Symptoms Much Better After 12 Weeks of Tai Chi
-- WebMD
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BREAKING NEWS: A recent study suggests that practicing Tai Ji Quan (TJQ), a Chinese mind-body therapy (MBT) exercise, also called Tai Chi, supports the technique as positive strategy to reduce fibromyalgia symptoms.
The study,”Efficacy of Rehabilitation with Tai Ji Quan in an Italian Cohort of Patients with Fibromyalgia Syndrome,” published in Complementary Therapies in Clinical Practice, regards the exercise as a “multicomponent intervention, integrating physical, psychosocial, emotional, spiritual, and behavioral elements and promoting the mind-body interaction”.
Drug therapies for fibromyalgia are often ineffective and may cause abuse and dependence. But lately, adapted physical activity and relaxation techniques, in combination with cognitive behavioral therapies and MBTs, are increasingly considered as positive options for non-pharmacological interventions that lessen the impact of chronic pain diseases.
-- Fibromyalgia News Today, August 12, 2016
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Tai Chi Shows Relief for Arthritis Pain, Improves Well-Being and Enhances Sleep
In the largest study to date of the Arthritis Foundation's Tai Chi program, participants showed improvement in pain, fatigue, stiffness and sense of well-being. Older adults also improved their ability to reach while maintaining balance, said Leigh Callahan, PhD, the study's lead author and professor in the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine. "Our study shows that there are significant benefits of the Tai Chi course for individuals with all types of arthritis, including fibromyalgia, rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis," Callahan said.
In the study, 354 participants were recruited from 20 sites in North Carolina and New Jersey and randomly assigned to two groups. The intervention group received the 8-week, twice-weekly Tai Chi course immediately while the other group was a delayed control group.
-- Global Health Aging, February 27, 2015
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Relief for Fibromyalgia Pain: a Dose of Tai Chi
New research suggests practicing tai chi regularly can ease fibromyalgia pain
Harvard Health Publications
Fibromyalgia. A recent randomized study reported in the New England Journal of Medicine used a protocal similar to their osteoarthritis and rheumatoid artritis studies. Tai Chi led to a large improvement in symptoms listed on a clinically validated questionnaire about fibromyalgia symptoms, as well as spearate measures related to pain, sleep quality, depression, and quality of life. These improvements were maintained for six months, more Tai Chi subjects cut back on their use of medication compared to controls, and again, there were no Tai chi-related adverse events.
Additional support for using Tai Chi to treat fibromyalgia comes from smaller noncontrolled studies and case series, as well as from studies reporting positive effects on fibromyalgia following mind-body therapies, including Qigong and mindfulness-based stress reduction ... growing evidence suggests that Tai Chi, when taught by experienced teachers, is safe and potentially an effective adjunct therapy for people who sufer with back pain, osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, and fibromyalgia. By treating the whole person, Tai Chi targets not only pain but also many of the secondary factors associated with pain, and it sets up behaviors that may slow down disease progression. (Harvard Medical School Guide to Tai Chi. Pages 148-149.)
Read more at Harvard Health Publications ...
Tai chi benefits Fibromyalgia patients
Read entire article at "Tai Chi Research" ...
Pilot study of tai chi for fibromyalgia shows improvements in symptom management and health-related quality of life.
Read entire article at "Tai Chi Research" ...
Most alternative treatments have either not been scientifically tested or subjected to limited investigations, says Arthritis Research UK.
Of 25 therapies, only a handful were judged to have enough medical evidence to support their use.
These included acupuncture, massage, tai chi and yoga ... For fibromyalgia there were 50 trials of 17 different therapies in more than 3,000 patients. Acupuncture and massage came out top, closely followed by tai chi and relaxation therapy.
-- BBC News Online, Health Editor, Jan. 8, 2013
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The New England Journal of Medicine
Trial conducted from July 2007 through May 2009 at Tufts Medical Center
Results:
Of the 66 randomly assigned patients, the 33 in the tai chi group had clinically important improvements in the FIQ total score and quality of life.
Conclusions:
Tai chi may be a useful treatment for fibromyalgia and merits long-term study in larger study populations. (Funded by the National Center for Complementary and
Alternative Medicine and others; ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT00515008.)
Read more at: http://www.nejm.org/doi/pdf/10.1056/NEJMoa0912611
The New England Journal of Medicine
Prescribing Tai Chi for Fibromyalgia — Are We There Yet?
Gloria Y. Yeh, M.D., M.P.H., Ted J. Kaptchuk and Robert H. Shmerling, M.D.
2010; 363:783-784August 19, 2010
Fibromyalgia is a common and poorly understood pain disorder that afflicts an estimated 200 million or more people worldwide.1 The lack of objective abnormalities detected on physical examination and standard blood and imaging tests has led many physicians to question the existence of this disorder.2 However, for those experiencing the pain and other associated symptoms (including fatigue, stiffness, and nonrestorative sleep), there is little doubt that the condition is real — and so is the need for relief. Studies over the past decade suggest that fibromyalgia may be due, at least in part, to an alteration in pain sensitivity in . . .
Read article at:
http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMe1006315
Purpose. To evaluate the effect of a 7-week Qigong intervention on subjects with Fibromyalgia Syndrome (FMS) ...
results of the study are encouraging and suggest that Qigong intervention could be a useful complement to medical treatment for subjects with FMS.
Read More: http://informahealthcare.com/doi/abs/10.1080/09638280701400540
The ancient Chinese practice of tai chi may be effective as a therapy for fibromyalgia, according to a study published on Thursday in The New England Journal of Medicine.
A clinical trial at Tufts Medical Center found that after 12 weeks of tai chi, patients with fibromyalgia, a chronic pain condition, did significantly better in measurements of pain, fatigue, physical functioning, sleeplessness and depression than a comparable group given stretching exercises and wellness education. Tai chi patients were also more likely to sustain improvement three months later.
Read entire article at:
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/19/health/19taichi.html?_r=1
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USA Today: Tai chi may ease fibromyalgia pain
http://www.usatoday.com/yourlife/health/medical/alternative/2010-08-19-taichi19_st_N.htm
US News and World Report:
http://health.usnews.com/health-news/managing-your-healthcare/bones-joints-and-muscles/articles/2010/08/19/relief-for-fibromyalgia-pain-a-dose-of-tai-chi.html
Done regularly, tai chi can reduce the risk of falls and injury. It also may improve circulation, flexibility, posture, blood pressure, and heart rate, as well as ease pain, reduce stress, increase energy, and prevent osteoporosis. One study even shows benefits in people with fibromyalgia.
-- Parade Magazine, May 3, 2009
Measurements on both the Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnaire and the Short Form-36 revealed significant improvement in symptom management and health-related quality of life.
-- Orthopedic Nursing, 22, 353-60
Chronic Fatigue Syndrome: Alternative therapies are often explored by CFS patients to relieve symptoms. Acupuncture, hydrotherapy, yoga, tai chi, and massage therapy have been found to help some patients and are often prescribed for symptom management. National Fibromyalgia Association; Friday, April 18, 2008 -- Reprinted from FMOnline
http://www.fmaware.org/site/News2?page=NewsArticle&id=7053
Fibromyalgia is a modern epidemic, a chronic pain condition affecting 6 to 8 percent of the U.S. population.
T'ai Chi has been recommended by some health professionals as a very desirable adjunct therapy for sufferers. In 2000, the University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore's study of a nonpharmacologic intervention in fibromyalgia resulted in Twenty of 28 subjects completed at least 5 of the 8 sessions of a Qigong Program. Significant improvement was seen in the Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnaire and a range of other outcome measures including tender points and pain threshold. Improvement was sustained 4 months after the end of the intervention.
