Original article
The Effects on Sensorimotor Performance and Balance With Tai Chi Training

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apmr.2005.09.017Get rights and content

Abstract

Fong S-M, Ng GY. The effects on sensorimotor performance and balance with Tai Chi training.

Objectives

To compare the effects of short-term and long-term Tai Chi training on the sensorimotor and balance performance of able-bodied subjects.

Design

A nonrandomized cross-sectional controlled trial.

Setting

Sport laboratory.

Participants

Forty-eight healthy subjects, 16 with 3 months of experience in Tai Chi training, 16 with 1 to 3 years of experience in Tai Chi training, and 16 with no experience in Tai Chi training.

Intervention

Experimental.

Main Outcome Measures

The reflex contraction latencies (reaction time) of medial hamstrings and gastrocnemius after perturbation, the active knee joint angle–repositioning error, and the balance time on a tilt board were measured and analyzed with 1-way analysis of covariance. Significant results were further analyzed with post hoc linear contrasts.

Results

Long-term Tai Chi practitioners had a significantly faster reflex reaction time in hamstrings (P<.000) and gastrocnemius (P=.043) muscles and a longer balance time on a tilt board (P<.000) than short-term Tai Chi practitioners and nonpractitioners. Both long- and short-term Tai Chi practitioners had significantly less knee joint angle–repositioning error than nonpractitioners (P=.001 and P=.027, respectively).

Conclusions

Tai Chi training of more than 1 year might have the benefits of faster hamstrings and gastrocnemius reflex reaction and improved knee joint position sense (JPS). These changes might be associated with an improved dynamic standing balance. Better knee JPS was shown in subjects with 3 months of Tai Chi practice, but this had not led to a significant improvement in balance.

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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