Tai chi helps Parkinson’s patients balance
Controlled movement regimen limits falls
By Nathan Seppa
Twice-a-week tai chi lessons can help people with Parkinson’s disease maintain their footing and lessen the risk of falls, a new study finds. Training in the Chinese martial art seems to improve ankle stability, posture control and walking ability in these patients.
Tai chi includes exercises and posture changes by which the body flows slowly from one position into another, with heightened awareness of balance, coordination and weight shifting. “We’re hoping that physical therapy will pick up some of these movements” for Parkinson’s patients, says study coauthor Fuzhong Li, a behavioral researcher at the Oregon Research Institute in Eugene. “They are very easy to incorporate into PT sessions.” The study appears in the Feb. 9 New England Journal of Medicine.
Parkinson’s disease gradually destroys brain cells that produce dopamine, a neurotransmitter essential for delivering brain signals that control muscle movement. People with the disease risk falling every day as they struggle to maintain balance in walking and performing common tasks.
Many Parkinson’s patients improve with medication or brain surgery (SN: 9/2/2006, p. 149). But those benefits have limits. “Surgical treatment and drugs make a person more mobile but don’t improve the ability to control balance,” says Lee Dibble, a physical therapist and Parkinson’s researcher at the University of Utah. The new report suggests that tai chi and to some extent resistance training do aid balance and limit falls. “You really need an intervention like this to improve and maintain function,” Dibble says.