Tai chi may be good alternative in relieving knee osteoarthritis pain
A small study suggests that tai chi, an ancient Chinese therapy used to reduce stress and fight anxiety, may work as well as traditional physical therapy for easing pain in people with knee osteoarthritis.
Knee osteoarthritis is a leading cause of pain and disability in older adults. This occurs when flexible tissue at the ends of bones wears down. While it can’t be cured, physical therapy or anti-inflammatory medications are often prescribed to relieve pain and improve mobility.
Researchers randomly assigned about 200 people with knee osteoarthritis to try either physical therapy treatments or the Chinese meditation practice that combines deep breathing and slow, fluid movements.
The findings suggest that the growing number of US patients practicing tai chi to address musculoskeletal and mental health issues are on to something, said lead study author Dr. Chenchen Wang, director of the Center for Complimentary and Integrative Medicine at Tufts Medical Center in Boston.
Wang said in an email to Reuters that tai chi is a multicomponent traditional Chinese mind-body practice that may systematically promote health through the integration of physical, psychosocial, emotional, spiritual and behavioral elements.
In the study, Wang and colleagues assigned about half of the participants to attend hour-long tai chi classes twice a week for 12 weeks. The others got six weeks of 30-minute physical therapy sessions twice a week and were then told to continue with exercises at home at least four times a week for another six weeks. Participants were 60 years old on average. They were typically overweight or obese and had been suffering from knee osteoarthritis for around eight years.
But because patients knew what treatment they received, it’s possible that preconceived notions about the potential benefits of tai chi or physical therapy may have influenced the changes in symptoms that participants reported, the authors note.
The study was also done at a single academic medical center, making it hard to say whether the results would be similar in other settings.
Even so, the findings suggest that tai chi may offer some relief to patients without the potential cost of attending physical therapy or side effects of medications, said Romy Lauche of the Australian Research Center in Complimentary and Integrative Medicine at the University of Technology Sydney. He also added that any exercise may provide benefits by improving functional disability and impacting coping skills.
The controlled movements that are a hallmark of tai chi can be good for joints because they allow fluid in the joints to move in and out of cartilage, improving flexibility, noted Jean-Michel Brismee, a researcher in physical therapy and rehabilitation at the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center in Lubbock. Brismee also said that both physical therapy and tai chi should aim to educate patients in doing the healing movements daily at home.
Source: Reuters
