INTRODUCTION

It was observed that many people who suffered from osteoarthritis (OA) either in their knees or hips do not actually move around sufficiently to loosen up those achy joints or gain the other health benefits of being physically active.

In fact, the problems associated with osteoarthritis do not simply disappear when you start exercising, but patients no longer have to give up their life because of their arthritis. A good exercise program helps diminish the pain and disability associated with arthritis and still allows them to enjoy some favorite activities.

There have been several studies that have shown strength training and aerobic exercise is able to improve pain management, physical function and the general health of people with knee osteoarthritis. While this may sounds great, for most sedentary people who are suffering in pain, the idea of lifting weights or taking a brisk walk may often seem like too big a step to initiate.

What Problem Was Studied?

Because many people hesitate to even commence or fail to adhere to strength training and aerobic exercise programs, health and exercise professionals have been identifying and coming up with alternative activities in which people with osteoarthritis can do to enhance their pain and function. Since water’s buoyancy promotes easier joint movement and is virtually impact-free, making it an excellent choice for people with painful joints.

There are other alternative exercise therapies which people are more willing to participate or try out such as Tai Chi and hydrotherapy.

The ancient art of Tai Chi uses gentle flowing movements that are coordinated with breathing to help one achieves a sense of inner calmness. The slow and fluid movements in Tai Chi incorporate strengthening, balance, posture, relaxation and concentration. The concentration required for Tai Chi forces one to live in the present moment, putting aside distressing thoughts. All these are important elements for people with knee or hip osteoarthritis.

NewAgeTaichi senior coach, Ms Diana Ng said that she has many students who suffer from chronic diseases; including arthritis and they often found Tai Chi a more suitable and easily accepted form of exercise to start off with. “Many people who are already suffering in pain would not want to experience additional pain when they engage in any form of exercises. In fact, they are looking for an instant drug-free pain relief solution,” she said.

Diana has years of experience in conducting private Tai Chi classes for clients with chronic disease and able to integrate Tai Chi as a form of natural and non invasive therapy to help her clients in managing and improving their quality of life. She combined the ancient art of Tai Chi with modern sports science to develop customize programs that tailor to her clients’ needs and condition.

“While learning Tai Chi may not provide immediate pain relief, it’s the constant encouragement and motivation as a Coach which make the students feel good about themselves during the class, that will encourage them to continue practicing consistently and that’s when they start to feel the positive effect of Tai Chi on their body,” she added.

Research Study Carried Out

A research team in Australia recruited 152 sedentary individuals with painful hip and/or knee osteoarthritis to participate in a trial that would determine whether aqua exercise or Tai Chi would improve their pain and enhance their function. Out of the 152 people, 55 of them were allocated to aqua exercise classes, 56 were allocated to special “Tai Chi for Arthritis” classes and 41 were put on a waiting list and acted as the control group. All participants were required to attend classes for one hour, twice a week for 12 weeks. Pre and post assessments of the participants’ pain and physical function were made before the beginning of the trial (pretreatment), after the 12 weeks’ of classes (post-treatment) and again 12 weeks after the end of the classes (follow-up).

Study Results

In the findings, both the hydrotherapy and Tai Chi groups have showed significant improvements in terms of pain and function. These improvements were generally maintained for another further 3 months after the completion of the classes. It was observed that the hydrotherapy had a higher attendance rate as compared to the Tai Chi classes. Also, more participants in the Tai Chi group dropped out during the course of the study.

Observation

Marlene Fransen, MPH, PhD, the study’s lead investigator, concludes “This study demonstrated that access to 12 weeks of intensive water exercise classes or this disease-specific form of Tai Chi for fairly sedentary older individuals (>59 years of age) with chronic symptomatic knee or hip osteoarthritis resulted in clinical benefits that were sustained a further 12 weeks.”

She goes on to specify, “Hydrotherapy classes appeared to provide greater relief of joint pain, and resulted in larger improvements in measures of physical performance, however this result may be mostly explained by the greater acceptability and attendance of the hydrotherapy classes in this Caucasian sample of patients.”

Joint flexibility is often lost with arthritis, but this loss is actually due to restricting one’s movements because of pain. Increasing activities may delay the loss of flexibility and maintain function in a joint. If one does not move a joint through its complete range of motion, one will eventually loses a portion of its total motion. In Tai Chi, the movements promote overall range of motion for the total body. Since it is done in a slow, continuous motion, it allows the individual to slowly adjust and adapt to the joint movement range and in a way their body awareness increases over time as they learn how to control their movement. When applied to daily activities, they are able to manage it much better as compared to those who choose to lead a sedentary lifestyle.

“The students don’t care how much you know, until they know how much you care. I always try to find different ways to engage my students during my class and make them feel comfortable while practicing Tai Chi”, said Diana.

“When my students find a certain movements that cause them pain or discomfort, I will usually look at their posture alignment to make sure they are not doing it wrongly or give them alternatives which they are able to adapt. It is only when their body is more conditioned, then I will progressively add on to the intensity. In this way, the students are likely to adhere to my Tai Chi program”, she added.