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- Health Status Diagnoses
- Detoxification
- Pain Manageent
- Cancer Support
- Aging & Longevity
- Diabetes Prevention
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Evidence-Based Study
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12-month Tai Chi training in the elderly... its effect on health fitness! Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise. 30(3):345-351, March 1998. LAN, CHING; LAI, JIN-SHIN; CHEN, SSU-YUAN; WONG, MAY-KUEN Abstract: Purpose: The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of Tai Chi Chuan(TCC) on health fitness in older individuals. Methods: Thirty-eight community-dwelling persons aged 58 to 70 yr completed this study. The TCC group included 9 men and 11 women; the control group included 9 men and 9 women. The TCC group practiced TCC for 11.2 +/- 1.4 months, with the attendance of 4.6 +/- 1.3 times wk-1. Each session included 20 min of warm-up, 24 min of TCC practice, and 10 min of cool down. The exercise intensity was 52-63% of the heart rate range. Cardiorespiratory function, strength, flexibility, and percent of body fat were evaluated before and at the end of this study. Results: The male TCC group showed 16.1% increase in VO2max (P< 0.01), 11[degrees] increase in thoracic/lumbar flexibility (P < 0.05), 18.1% increase in muscle strength of knee extensor (P < 0.01), and 15.4% increase of knee flexor (P < 0.05). The female TCC group showed 21.3% increase in VO2max (P < 0.01), 8.8[degrees] increase in flexibility (P < 0.05), 20.3% increase in muscle strength of knee extensor (P < 0.05), and 15.9% increase of knee flexor (P < 0.05). The control group showed no significant change in these variables. Conclusions: The results indicate that a 12-month Tai Chi Chuan program is effective for improving health fitness of the elderly. (C) Williams & Wilkins 1998. All Rights Reserved |
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