What is Tai Chi?

Tai chi is an ancient Chinese martial art that has evolved over centuries to become a means of alleviating stress and anxiety. It combines slow, flowing movements with deep breathing and mental focus, and advocates claim that it promotes serenity and inner peace and has also been referred to as “meditation in motion.” It also combines gentle strengthening, mobility, and controlled breathing to facilitate movement and support respiratory relaxation.

Physically, tai chi has been shown to improve balance control, fitness, and flexibility, and its movements are slow and low impact, with no jarring motions, which helps make it a safe option for many fitness levels. It also appears to reduce pain and symptoms of depression.

Discover why tai chi is so beneficial and how you can get started!

Health Benefits of Tai Chi

Tai chi can provide a number of physical and mental health benefits, helping alleviate pain as well as stress. A few of these include:

• Improved mood, mental well-being, and lower depression, stress, and anxiety

• Muscle strength

• Increase in energy

• Enhanced flexibility, balance, agility, and healthier joints

• Better posture awareness and movement control

• Lower blood pressure

• Reduced inflammation

• Stronger immune system

With regular practice, ideally at least twice weekly, tai chi may support relief by improving proprioception, lowering systemic cortisol and muscle guarding through mindful practice, pumping synovial fluid to aid mobility, and easing tension.

Who Can Benefit from Tai Chi? (Including Chronic Back Pain)

The benefits of tai chi can help a number of different people with chronic back pain or other specific conditions.

People of all ages can benefit from tai chi. Tai chi requires no equipment, weights, or excessive physical ability and can be done right at home, making it an effective self-care option and a gentle form of physical activity for people who want pain relief without heavy loading. For low back pain, tai chi may help by improving posture and alignment through neuromuscular retraining. It can also support the spine by strengthening core and stabilizing muscles without heavy weights. In addition, it may ease stiffness by enhancing flexibility in tight hip flexors and hamstrings. There are several conditions that have been proven to be significantly improved by practicing tai chi. A few of these include:

Fibromyalgia

Fibromyalgia is a musculoskeletal condition that is often described as “pain all over.” For those who suffer from fibromyalgia, it's important to find treatments to help manage your pain. Oftentimes, it's recommended to find ways to reduce stress, get sufficient sleep, exercise and eat a well-balanced diet.

A study conducted by The New England Journal of Medicine found that tai chi has a therapeutic effect on patients with fibromyalgia. The patients assigned to the tai chi group experienced clinically important improvements in their “fibromyalgia impact questionnaire” and reported a higher quality of life.

Diabetes

Those who suffer from diabetes experience very high levels of blood sugar, which can result in poor blood flow and high levels of fatigue. The British Journal of Sports Medicine conducted a study that indicated tai chi is capable of improving blood glucose levels in patients with type 2 diabetes. More importantly, tai chi was also shown to help improve a patient's immune system response.

Parkinson's Disease

Patients with Parkinson's disease have substantially impaired balance and have an increased risk for falling.  A study found that after participating in a tailored tai chi program, patients with Parkinson's had reduced falls and greater balance. The tai chi group performed consistently better than the resistance-training or stretching groups.

Depression and Mood Disorders

According to recent studies, tai chi’s focused, mindful movements may reduce symptoms of depression in the elderly while also addressing psychological factors tied to chronic pain and reducing a need for medication. This study shows that adding a mind-body exercise like tai chi that is widely available in the community can improve the outcomes of treating depression in older adults, who may also have other, co-existing medical conditions, or cognitive impairment. Its deep, controlled breathing and mindful relaxation may improve sleep quality in people with chronic lower back pain by lowering systemic cortisol and stress-related muscle guarding.

10 Tai Chi Moves for Beginners: Learn Tai Chi

Try Tai Chi!

If you have been experiencing back pain, mental health issues, or are simply looking for a new exercise to participate in, try pain relief tai chi. Tai chi offers benefits for the health and well-being of people of all ages and athletic abilities, and it can serve as complementary therapy that fits into a daily routine for ongoing relief. Build a consistent tai chi practice by aiming to practice at least twice weekly, whether with certified instructors in a local class or by following guided DVDs/videos, if you are interested in experiencing the many healing benefits of tai chi.


DR-HO'S content is intended for informational purposes only and should not be taken as medical advice. Please consult a certified medical professional for diagnosis and treatment recommendations.