Tai Chi as an exercise to prevent osteoporosis (part 5)
After following a database search Wayne et al identified six articles of litearature that could be used to look into the relationship between the effects of performing Tai Chi upon the bone mineral density of post menopausal women. Two of these studies were randomised controlled studies, two were cohort studies, while the remaining two were static cross section comparisons. Unfortunately the methodology used in most of the studies was of poor quality, however the results were interpreted as best as possible. the investigations generally compared Tai Chi with other exercises such as skipping, martial arts; with sedate subjects; or with traditional Chinese herbal medicine or acupuncture.
The literature search done by Wayne et al found a few interesting findings:
1.It was found that long term post menopausal practicer's of Tai Chi had an higher bone mineral density than those of a similar age who were sedentary in nature. Additionally people who performed Tai Chi had a lower rate of bone loss in comparison to inactive people. It was also observed that women who partook in Tai Chi tended to have a higher bone density in both the Femur and spine.
2.People who had not previously taken Tai Chi as a form of exercise, but took it up appeared to slow their rate of bone density loss. After a period of one year it was found in one of the studies that the rate of bone loss could be reduced by as much as 3.6 times in the trabecular and 2.3 times in the cortical. A further study also revealed that two people performing Tai Chi together using the pushing hands method could increase their lumbar bone mineral density by as much as 3.4%.
3.A further study also suggested that the use of Tai Chi may help to reduce perimenopausal symptoms such as hot flashes.
4.None of the studies found any adverse impacts of carrying out Tai Chi exercises in both peri- and post menopausal women.
As mentioned previously there are many limitations with the studies that have been carried out between the relationship of Tai Chi and bone density levels in post menopausal women. These limitations were mainly in the methodology or design of the experiments themselves. Another thing to be considered is that all the reports came from China and hence analyse Asian women, who are known to have different prevalences of osteoporosis than other races. Therefore the findings should be taken with caution; however, it does look like Tai Chi may have a positive impact when used as an exercise for osteopenia sufferers.
References
Wayne et al. The effects of Tai Chi on Bone Mineral Density in postmenopausal Women: A systematic review. Arch Phys Med rehabil. Vol 88, pp673-680, 2007