Does different exercise have the same effect of health promotion for the elderly? Comparison of training-specific effect of Tai Chi and swimming on motor control.
It remains unclear whether Tai Chi Chuan (TCC) instead of swimming yields a training-specific effect on dynamic balance. The objective of the present study is to test if the practice of TCC provides a distinctive benefit of balance in the elderly. The participants in TCC (n = 32) and swimming groups (n = 20) practiced regular swimming and TCC respectively for at least 3 years before the recruitment. Thirty-four healthy and active elderly volunteers were also recruited as the control group. To evaluate balance, we used SMART Balance Master that yields balance parameters including maximal stability, center-of-pressure velocity, and percentage ankle strategy obtained under six different balance conditions. We evaluated eye-hand coordination by measuring the movement time required to accurately point from one target to the next. In the most challenging balance conditions, the TCC group performed significantly better than the swimming and control groups. In eye-hand coordination tasks, both the TCC and swimming groups yielded significantly shorter movement time compared with the control group; however, no significant difference was observed between them. We concluded that both TCC and swimming improve eye-hand coordination in the elderly. However, TCC yields a better training effect on dynamic balance.
Wong
Alice M K
AM
Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital No 5, Fu-Hsing Street, Huei-Shan, Taoyuan County 333, Taiwan.
Chou
Shih-Wei
SW
Huang
Shu-Chun
SC
Lan
Ching
C
Chen
Hsieh-Ching
HC
Hong
Wei-Hsien
WH
Chen
Carl P C
CP
Pei
Yu-Cheng
YC
D000368:Aged; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006293:Health Promotion; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009043:Motor Activity / Q000502:physiology*; D004856:Postural Balance / Q000502:physiology*; D011597:Psychomotor Performance / Q000502:physiology*; D012016:Reference Values; D013550:Swimming / Q000502:physiology*; D026302:Tai Ji