Original articleThe Effects on Sensorimotor Performance and Balance With Tai Chi Training
Section snippets
Methods
Forty-eight subjects (24 men, 24 women; age range, 40–78y) were recruited on a voluntary basis for this study. Sixteen were long-term Tai Chi practitioners (mean age ± standard deviation [SD], 53.8±12.2y) who had practiced Tai Chi for 1 to 3 years, 3 times a week for 1 to 2 hours a session. Another 16 were short-term Tai Chi practitioners (mean age, 52.9±11.7y) who had practiced Tai Chi for 3 months, 3 times a week for 1 to 2 hours a session. The rest were normative sedentary control subjects
Results
The ICC values for the hamstrings and gastrocnemius reflex reaction time, knee joint angle–repositioning error, and balance time on the tilt board ranged from .775 to .884. These indicated good reliability for all of the tests.20
For the hamstrings reflex reaction time, the analysis of covariance result was significant (P<.001). A post hoc analysis revealed that the long-term Tai Chi practitioners had significantly faster reaction times than the other 2 groups (fig 2). For the gastrocnemius
Discussion
No previous studies had examined the muscle reflex reaction time to perturbation in Tai Chi. Our finding that long-term Tai Chi practitioners have faster medial hamstrings and gastrocnemius reflex reaction times than non–Tai Chi practitioners of a similar age is important in the evaluation of the effects of Tai Chi. A PA perturbation of the trunk would cause an angular translation of the body, thus stretching the hamstrings and gastrocnemius muscles. These muscles responded with reflex
Conclusions
This study revealed that Tai Chi training of more than 1 year might have the benefits of shortening the hamstrings and the gastrocnemius reflex reaction times and improving knee JPS. These changes might be associated with an improvement in dynamic standing balance. Better knee JPS was shown in subjects with 3 months of Tai Chi practice, but this did not lead to an improvement in their overall balance ability.
Acknowledgment
We thank Peggo Lam of the Department of Rehabilitation Sciences, Hong Kong Polytechnic University, for providing statistical advice on this study.
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