03/13/05

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT: Kathryn Madden - 541-484-2123

Oregon Study Shows Tai Chi Improves Balance and Reduces Falls in Elderly

By participating in a three-times-per-week Tai Chi exercise group for six months, elderly adults, aged 70 years or older, showed marked improvements in balance and reduced their frequency of falls and their risks for falling by as much as 55%.  An article recently published in a national geriatric journal summarizes these significant findings from an Oregon Research Institute (ORI) study. The study, led by ORI senior scientist Fuzhong Li, Ph.D., was a randomized controlled trial involving 256 physically inactive elderly adults over 70 who were assigned to either a Tai Chi exercise group or to a stretching control group which met three times a week for six months. At the end of the six month program, significantly fewer falls, fewer numbers of elders who fell, and fewer injurious falls were observed in the Tai Chi group compared to the stretching group. Tai Chi participants showed significant improvements in a variety of measures of balance and physical performance, and reduced fear of falling. These gains were maintained during a six-month post-intervention follow-up.

“This study confirms the effectiveness of Tai Chi as a recommended balance enhancing exercise, which has a profound impact on reducing the frequency of multiple falls and serious injury from falling, which can be so devastating for older adults,” notes Li. “Additionally, this is the only study showing that the benefits from participating in Tai Chi can be maintained over time.”

The National Institute on Aging funded this study. The article appeared in the February issue of Journal of Gerontology: Medical Science (2005;60A:187-194).

Founded in 1960, Oregon Research Institute is a non-profit behavioral research center with offices in Eugene, Portland, and Albuquerque, New Mexico.