Leung Daniel P K, Chan Carol K L, Tsang Hector W H, Tsang William W N, Jones Alice Y M
Department of Rehabilitation Sciences, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hunghom.
Altern Ther Health Med. 2011 Jan-Feb;17(1):40-8.
The evidence of tai chi for balance improvement and fall reduction in older adults was updated and reviewed.
A systematic review was carried out by two independent reviewers among nine electronic databases to identify randomized controlled trials (RCTs) that examined the effects of tai chi on balance improvement and fall reduction in older adults using such key words as tai chi, falls, balance, and randomized trial.
The results based on 13 RCTs indicated that tai chi was effective in improving balance of older adults but may not necessarily be superior to other interventions. Results also showed that in the absence of other interventions, tai chi reduced falls in the nonfrail elderly.
Tai chi is recommended as an alternative treatment for improving balance so as to reduce falls. Future research with improved research designs such as more consistent outcome measures on balance and fall reduction and longer postintervention follow-up should be conducted to unravel the efficacy of different types of tai chi.
更新并综述太极拳对改善老年人平衡能力及减少跌倒的证据。
两名独立评审员在九个电子数据库中进行了系统评价，以识别随机对照试验（RCT），这些试验使用太极拳、跌倒、平衡和随机试验等关键词，研究了太极拳对改善老年人平衡能力及减少跌倒的效果。
基于13项随机对照试验的结果表明，太极拳在改善老年人平衡能力方面有效，但不一定优于其他干预措施。结果还表明，在没有其他干预措施的情况下，太极拳可减少非体弱老年人的跌倒。
推荐太极拳作为改善平衡以减少跌倒的替代治疗方法。未来应开展设计更优的研究，如采用更一致的平衡和跌倒减少结局测量方法以及更长的干预后随访时间，以阐明不同类型太极拳的疗效。
