Effects of tai chi chuan on insulin and cytokine levels in a randomized controlled pilot study on breast cancer survivors.

Clin Breast Cancer. 2011 Jun;11(3):161-70

Authors: Janelsins MC, Davis PG, Wideman L, Katula JA, Sprod LK, Peppone LJ, Palesh OG, Heckler CE, Williams JP, Morrow GR, Mustian KM

Tai Chi Chuan (TCC) is an integrative medicine mind-body practice with a physical activity component that has positive effects on aerobic capacity, muscular strength, and quality of life among cancer survivors, similar to the effects elicited by other modes of moderate-intensity exercise. Inflammatory cytokines and insulin and insulin-related signaling molecules may contribute to weight gain and affect cancer recurrence rates and survival; exercise can curb cancer- and treatment-related weight gain, increase survival, and reduce levels of insulin and inflammatory cytokines. Despite knowing the beneficial effects of conventional exercise interventions on these mediators, little is known about the physiologic effects of TCC on these pathways in breast cancer survivors.

PMID: 21665136 [PubMed - in process]

Treatment of knee osteoarthritis.

Am Fam Physician. 2011 Jun 1;83(11):1287-92

Authors: Ringdahl E, Pandit S

Knee osteoarthritis is a common disabling condition that affects more than one-third of persons older than 65 years. Exercise, weight loss, physical therapy, intra-articular corticosteroid injections, and the use of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and braces or heel wedges decrease pain and improve function. Acetaminophen, glucosamine, ginger, S-adenosylmethionine (SAM-e), capsaicin cream, topical nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, acupuncture, and tai chi may offer some benefit. Tramadol has a poor trade-off between risks and benefits and is not routinely recommended. Opioids are being used more often in patients with moderate to severe pain or diminished quality of life, but patients receiving these drugs must be carefully selected and monitored because of the inherent adverse effects. Intra-articular corticosteroid injections are effective, but evidence for injection of hyaluronic acid is mixed. Arthroscopic surgery has been shown to have no benefit in knee osteoarthritis. Total joint arthroplasty of the knee should be considered when conservative symptomatic management is ineffective.

PMID: 21661710 [PubMed - in process]

Doing tai chi helps women counter the age-related loss of muscle strength, a new study suggests.

The study involved post-menopausal women who took a 12-week tai chi course, with sessions three times per week.

It found that after 12 weeks the women had an eight per cent improvement in their leg muscle strength and a 17 per cent improvement in balance.

Tai chi is a slow, meditative martial art developed in China centuries ago. People practise tai chi for a variety of reasons, from health and relaxation to self-defence.

Retrieved from www.google.com/hostednews/canadianpress/article/ALeqM5iqX59w-CqBP_zQz7XrsMeeoqIRHQ?docId=7137306 – The Canadian Press: Study: Tai chi counteracts age-related loss of muscle strength.

According to the American Cancer Society, more than 11.4 million Americans are currently living with cancer. While cancer treatments are plentiful, many have negative side effects. Previous studies have indicated that a significant number of patients who receive chemotherapy also experience cognitive declines, including decreases in verbal fluency and memory. Now, one University of Missouri health psychologist has found evidence that indicates Tai Chi, a Chinese martial art, might help overcome some of those problems.”Scientists have known for years that Tai Chi positively impacts physical and emotional health, but this small study also uncovered evidence that it might help cognitive functioning as well,” said Stephanie Reid-Arndt, assistant professor and chair of the Department of Health Psychology in the School of Health Professions. “We know this activity can help people with their quality of life in general, and with this new study, we are encouraged about how Tai Chi could also help those who have received chemotherapy. I also hope this encourages more people to think about Tai Chi positively on a broader scale in their lives.”Tai Chi involves practicing slow motion routines and is based on several principles, including mindfulness, breathing awareness, active relaxation and slow movements. The emphasis on slow movement makes Tai Chi particularly suited to a wide range of fitness levels, which makes it very relevant for those who have had chemotherapy and might be experiencing physical limitations as a result, Reid-Arndt said.The MU pilot study followed a group of women with a history of chemotherapy. The women participated in a 60-minute Tai Chi class two times a week for 10 weeks. The women were tested on memory, language, attention, stress, mood and fatigue before and after the 10-week sessions. According to Reid-Arndt, the results of the tests indicated that the women had made significant improvements in their psychological health and cognitive abilities.”Tai Chi really helps individuals focus their attention, and this study also demonstrates how good Tai Chi could be for anyone, whether or not they have undergone treatment for cancer,” Reid-Arndt said. “Due to the small size of this study, we really need to test a larger group of individuals to gain a better understanding of the specific benefits of this activity for patients who have been treated with chemotherapy and how significant these improvements might be.”

The study was published recently in Complementary Therapies in Clinical Practice.

Retrieved via Tai chi could be key to overcoming cognitive effects of chemotherapy.

Strategies of stepping over obstacles: The effects of long-term exercise in older adults.

Gait Posture. 2011 May 19;

Authors: Zhang C, Mao D, Riskowski JL, Song Q

BACKGROUND: Stepping over obstacles challenges stability and is a leading cause of falls in older adult populations. As walking and Tai Chi (TC) exercise have been suggested practices for older adults for fall prevention, the purpose of this study was to evaluate the obstacle-crossing strategies of long-term TC practitioners and exercise walkers. METHODS: Thirty healthy older women (average age: 65.7 years) with either TC (n=15) experience (average experience: 8.2 years) or walking exercise (n=15; average experience: 8.8 years) participated in this study. We used three trial conditions: (1) normal walking, (2) crossing a 15cm (20% of leg length) obstacle, and (3) crossing a 23cm (30% of leg length) to assess obstacle-crossing strategy. Sagittal plane obstacle-crossing kinematic parameters and plantar pressures were used to evaluate the obstaclecrossing strategy. A MANOVA assessed differences between groups. RESULTS: Individuals with a TC background crossed the obstacle significantly faster with a significantly longer step relative to the exercise walkers. Plantar pressure profiles between the two groups also differed. Exercise walkers showed greater plantar pressure in the forefoot; TC practitioners demonstrated greater medial heel plantar pressure during obstacle-crossing. CONCLUSIONS: Our results suggest that obstacle-crossing strategies were affected by the type of longterm exercise. The strategies each group used had important attributes that affect stability during obstacle-crossing. Future studies are needed to understand how obstacle-crossing strategies are adopted and how exercise may influence the strategy used.

PMID: 21601460 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]

Tai chi may help fall prevention and improve psychological health but has been shown not to be effective in the symptomatic treatment of cancer and rheumatoid arthritis, according to a study published online May 16 in the British Journal of Sports Medicine.

FRIDAY, May 20 (HealthDay News) — Tai chi may help fall prevention and improve psychological health but has been shown not to be effective in the symptomatic treatment of cancer and rheumatoid arthritis (RA), according to a study published online May 16 in the British Journal of Sports Medicine.

Myeong Soo Lee, Ph.D., of the Korea Institute of Oriental Medicine in Daejeon, and Edzard Ernst, M.D., Ph.D., of the University of Exeter in the United Kingdom, assessed published systematic reviews (SRs) of tai chi for any improvement of medical conditions or clinical symptoms. Data were extracted from 35 SRs pertaining to conditions including cancer, ageing, Parkinson’s disease, musculoskeletal pain, osteoarthritis, RA, muscle strength and flexibility, aerobic capacity, cardiovascular disease and risk factors, resting blood pressure, osteoporosis or bone mineral density, type 2 diabetes, psychological health, fall prevention and improving balance, or any chronic conditions.

The investigators found that, in several cases, SR conclusions were contradictory. There was evidence to suggest that tai chi is effective for fall prevention and improving psychological health. Tai chi also has a positive effect on the general health of older people. However, tai chi was not found to be effective for the treatment of symptoms of cancer and RA.

“Many SRs of tai chi have recently been published; however, the evidence is convincingly positive only for fall prevention and for improvement of psychological health,” the authors write.

via Tai Chi May Prevent Falls and Improve Mental Health –Doctors Lounge.

A research has indicated that meditative exercise forms such as yoga, Tai Chi, and ancient health practices such as acupuncture helps in reducing chronic pain.

Other complementary and alternative health practices including meditation and relaxation techniques, manual therapies such as massage and spinal manipulation also show promise for contributing to the management of pain.

“Much of health care involves helping people find solutions for tough problems like pain. I think all physicians are well aware of how difficult it is to manage chronic pain patients,” said Josephine Briggs, director of the National Centre for Complementary and Alternative Medicine at the National Institutes of Health.

“For example, with back pain we see that large numbers of patients are turning to these approaches with the hope of decreasing discomfort, improving function and quality-of-life, and minimising side effects of pharmacologic treatments,” added Briggs.

The research was presented at the Annual Scientific Meeting of the American Pain Society.

Read more via http://www.dnaindia.com/health/report_yoga-tai-chi-and-acupuncture-help-in-reducing-chronic-pain_1545622

This blog is a continuation of a series that looks at what have come to be called “Alternative and Complementary Treatments” or ACTs. These treatments have existed for a long time — in some cases for centuries. Their increased popularity as complements to cancer treatment is in large part a consequence of medical advances that have the power to extend life and even put once fatal illnesses into remission. These medical treatments, however, often have pernicious side effects. Also, as we discuss in depth in “Saying Goodbye: How Families Can Find Renewal through Loss,” having to cope with a terminal or potentially terminal illness is increasingly a prolonged process that time exposes both patients and their caregivers to chronic stress.

Read more via Joseph Nowinski, Ph.D.: Enhancing Cancer Treatment With Yoga And Tai Chi.

“What Qigong style is best for me?”

I hear this common refrain from many of my students. In the panoramic view of the vast universe of Qigong, a novice faces an overwhelming selection. Qigong consists of 3,000 different styles including the ever newly minted Qigong systems. Most beginners have little understanding what Qigong is precisely, so the decision is made even more difficult. To choose the style that best suits their needs would be like picking the correct plant for an herbal remedy out of an entire forest.

Qigong originated from shamanic healing rituals and totemic dances appearing around the time of the Neolithic Ice Age. These dances and rituals invoked the animal spirits and gathered the elements in order to heal the sick and the weak. Hence, many Qigong movements still retain their names harkening to these totemic origins: “Crane Spreading Its Wings”, “Tiger Return to Mountain”, “Monkey Retreats”, “Dragon Extends Its Claws” to name just a few. From an evolutionary and anthropological perspective, these ancient animal-like movements most likely evolved from the hunters’ imitations of animals while stalking prey. I learned some of these techniques during a session with the tracker Tom Brown who acquired his tracking and stalking skills from a Native American shaman named Stalking Wolf. We huddled close to the forest floor like bloodhounds tracking the scent of our prey. My own Native American teacher, Sun Bear, enacted a movement depicting the lumbering gait of a bear during the “medicine wheel” ceremony performed to heal earth. In the long arc of human migration, the Native Americans crossed over the Siberian ice bridge to the Americas 30,000 years ago, bringing with them these ancient shamanic rituals. Having a background in dance therapy and trained in movement analysis, I see an amazing similarity between these Native American practices and the Taiji and Qigong forms.

Read more via Sat Hon: A Field Guide to Qigong.

Effects of tai chi training in dynapenic and nondynapenic postmenopausal women.

Menopause. 2011 May 6;

Authors: Barbat-Artigas S, Filion ME, Dupontgand S, Karelis AD, Aubertin-Leheudre M

OBJECTIVE:: The purpose of the present study was to investigate the effects of a 12-week tai chi program in type I dynapenic and nondynapenic postmenopausal women. METHODS:: Sixty-two postmenopausal women were recruited. Body composition, handgrip strength, functional capacities, cardiorespiratory functions (forced expiratory volume in 1 s and oxygen consumption per unit time peak), and quality of life (36-item Short-Form Health Survey) were measured before and after the intervention. RESULTS:: Type I dynapenic postmenopausal women showed a significant decrease in body weight (P = 0.004), fat mass percentage (P = 0.02), and skeletal muscle mass (SM; in kilograms; P = 0.02), whereas handgrip strength (in kilograms per SMkg; P = 0.04), functional capacity test scores (P ≤ 0.050), and general health perception (P = 0.01) significantly increased. In nondynapenic postmenopausal women, we observed a significantly decreased waist circumference (P = 0.04) and a significantly increased chair-stand test (P < 0.001) and one-leg stance test (P = 0.04) scores. In addition, significantly lower systolic (P ≤ 0.001) and diastolic (P ≤ 0.005) blood pressures were observed in both groups after the intervention. Finally, type I dynapenic women showed a more pronounced general health perception increase compared with nondynapenic individuals (P = 0.03). CONCLUSIONS:: Tai chi training improved body composition, muscle strength, functional capacities, and general health perception in postmenopausal women, and this last improvement was more pronounced in type I dynapenic individuals. Therefore, tai chi may be considered as an alternative physical training method in preventing the occurrence of disabilities and frailty in postmenopausal women with type I dynapenia.

PMID: 21555960 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]