title: Therapeutic effects of tai chi in patients with Parkinson's disease.
abstract: Objective. The purpose of the study was to investigate the effects of a 12-week program of therapeutic Tai Chi on the motor function and physical function of idiopathic Parkinson's disease patients (PDs). Methods. The participants were 22 clinically stable PDs in Hoehn-Yahr stages 1-2 randomly assigned to a therapeutic Tai Chi group (TTC, N = 11) or a control group (CON, N = 9). Two subjects in control group did not complete the study for personal reasons. TTC was performed three days a week (60 min/session). Motor symptoms by the UPDRS were assessed, and tests of physical function were administered before and after the 12-week trial. Results. The TTC group, as compared to the CON group, showed changes in the mentation, behavior, mood, and motor scales of the UPDRS (P < 0.05, P < 0.01, resp.), with no significant main effects on the activities of daily living scale (ADL). However, there was a significant interaction between the time and intervention group on ADL (P < 0.05). There were no significant main effects for any of the physical function variables. There were significant interaction effects in balance and agility (P < 0.05, resp.). Conclusions. This study showed that TTC training had modest positive effects on the functional status of Parkinson's disease patients.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physical Education, Seoul National University, Gwanak-gu, Seoul 151-742, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Hye-Jung
authors.initials: HJ
authors.lastname: Choi
authors.forename: Carol Ewing
authors.initials: CE
authors.lastname: Garber
authors.forename: Tae-Won
authors.initials: TW
authors.lastname: Jun
authors.forename: Young-Soo
authors.initials: YS
authors.lastname: Jin
authors.forename: Sun-Ju
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Chung
authors.forename: Hyun-Joo
authors.initials: HJ
authors.lastname: Kang