HEALTH BENEFITS OF TAI CHI - BY ALLA BENNETT, FOUNDER AND TEACHER OF REVIVE TAI CHI
About Tai Chi
Almost 30 years ago, when I was in my 20s, I had back pain and a physiotherapist showed me a few gentle flowing movements. They resonated with me, and I thought this was exactly what I wanted to do. Later I found a local group and started my first Tai Chi lessons.
Talking to my peers, I found out that there were students with heart problems, mental health issues and hormonal imbalances, but they all agreed that Tai Chi made their quality of life much better. There were no miracle cures, but people seemed happier and less affected by their health issues.
Even though there is a plethora of empirical evidence about the benefits of Tai Chi, the standard methods of research may not be fully suitable for evaluating this amazing art. The problems within the research literature on Tai Chi and Qigong usually relate to small sample sizes, a lack of randomised studies with control groups, significant variance in practice duration and frequency, and differences in study durations. Most studies of the benefits of Tai Chi last only 12 to 24 weeks, a timeframe which may seem too short for the positive effects of the practice to emerge.
However, there are studies, and enough evidence is available to draw positive conclusions about the impact of Tai Chi on people’s health. We will look at the benefits of Tai Chi for the fundamental fitness components: strength and flexibility, balance and coordination, and cardiovascular fitness.
39%
of adults in the UK do not meet physical activity recommendations (British Heart Foundation, 2017)
Up to 45%
fewer falls in seniors who practise Tai Chi, according to some studies (Watson, 2012)
12 weeks
of Tai Chi gave cardiovascular effects similar to aerobic exercise (University of Birmingham)
Tai Chi benefits Neuromotor Fitness
Balance and Coordination
Balance and coordination are the fundamentals of movement and form part of so-called neuromotor fitness. Age, inactivity and certain medical conditions may cause these skills to deteriorate. Inactivity is a particularly widespread vice that results in a loss of neuromotor fitness. According to a report published in 2017 by the British Heart Foundation, 39% of adults in the UK do not meet physical activity recommendations (British Heart Foundation, 2017). Gentle, low-impact exercise such as Tai Chi is an excellent way to restore balance and coordination in adults who are not used to vigorous physical exercise. It is very easy to see how the benefits of Tai Chi relate to the nature of the exercises and movements in this martial art.
In Tai Chi forms, exercises and stances, balance is trained continuously in a variety of ways. All movements in Tai Chi are slow and measured, and the weight is transferred slowly from one leg to the other, which helps to train balance. The range of movements that students can perform also improves, and some postures and movements, such as kicks or one-legged stances, directly help to improve balance.
Improvement in balance has been documented in studies, particularly among older people, where practising Tai Chi was found to reduce the number of falls. Some studies have shown Tai Chi to reduce falls in seniors by up to 45% (Watson, 2012).
Another key component of neuromotor fitness is coordination, and Tai Chi is undoubtedly beneficial here too. The appeal of Tai Chi lies in the fact that it offers a whole range of exercises and forms. The least experienced practitioner usually starts with simple movements, and as they learn and gain confidence, the complexity of the movements increases. Practising Tai Chi form requires coordination of all body parts, which helps to improve this fundamental movement skill.
Strength and Flexibility
A popular belief is that whilst Tai Chi may be good for balance and coordination, to gain strength it is important to do weight and resistance training. However, according to Harvard Medical School, “Tai Chi can improve both lower-body strength and upper-body strength. When practiced regularly, Tai Chi can be comparable to resistance training and brisk walking.”
"Although you aren't working with weights or resistance bands, the unsupported arm exercise involved in Tai Chi strengthens your upper body," says internist Dr. Gloria Yeh, an assistant professor at Harvard Medical School. "Tai Chi strengthens both the lower and upper extremities and also the core muscles of the back and abdomen."
Harvard Health Publishing, 2015
Leg strength is a particularly important benefit of Tai Chi. Recent research published in the Journal of Gerontology looked at the relationship between leg strength and brain health. The results were very positive and suggested that brain health was linked to leg strength. According to the research, other factors such as heart health were also important, but the link with leg strength remained even after these were accounted for. Scientists believe that leg strength is a marker of the kind of physical activity that is good for your brain (BBC, 2015).
Tai Chi is a very adaptable system of exercises that can be tailored to students’ fitness levels, age and medical conditions. A wide range of exercises is taught alongside the forms, and forms with weapons are practised especially to train strength. Several repetitions of the long staff form can perfectly replace a gym session with weights.
The small-range movements used in Tai Chi also promote flexibility without the risk of injury or over-stretching. Tai Chi can be very good for injury prevention for athletes who practise other sports. The main benefit of Tai Chi for injury prevention is that it helps to strengthen connective tissues such as ligaments and tendons. A tendon is a tough yet flexible band of fibrous tissue. Tendons connect muscles to bones, and they take longer to build and restore. Ligaments have a different function: they stabilise the joints they surround.
The rotating and spiral movements in Tai Chi are a perfect workout for ligaments and tendons, and also for nerves. Physiotherapy uses a technique called nerve flossing, a type of gentle exercise that can help soothe compressed nerves and regain range of motion. The movements used in physiotherapy echo Tai Chi stretches. The great thing about Tai Chi is that it empowers its students to improve their health by practising independently and aiding their own recovery.
Cardiovascular Fitness
Another misconception about Tai Chi is that it may be good for balance, flexibility and strength, but cannot keep up with the more vigorous forms of exercise needed to build aerobic fitness. However, this belief was challenged by a recent BBC programme, “Trust Me, I’m a Doctor”, which tested the hypothesis that Tai Chi can be as effective as a typical cardiovascular exercise programme such as Zumba. The research was conducted by the University of Birmingham over 12 weeks, and the findings revealed that the effects of Tai Chi on the body and cardiovascular fitness were similar to those of aerobic exercise. At the end of the trial period, Tai Chi practitioners showed improved elasticity of the blood vessels, lower blood pressure and increased levels of antioxidants in the blood.
Conclusion
Tai Chi can offer many great rewards to its practitioners. If small studies lasting only several weeks can demonstrate the positive effects of Tai Chi on neuromotor and cardiovascular fitness, and its great impact on strength and flexibility, there are good grounds to believe that the potential of Tai Chi as a system of exercise, with wider application in disease prevention and rehabilitation, is massive. There are not many alternatives in the world of sport and exercise, accessible to the general public, that can boast the same body of research and anecdotal evidence to support their efficacy. The only thing required from those who want to reap the rewards of Tai Chi is practice and perseverance.
By Alla Bennett
Qualified Instructor, Revive Tai Chi