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Tai Chi, also known as Taiji, Tai Chi Chuan, or Taijiquan, originated in 17th century China as a new form of Kung Fu (Wayne & Kaptchuk, 2008). Tai Chi distinguished itself from the quicker, more agile martial arts, with its slower, more methodical movements (Wayne & Kaptchuk, 2008). It incorporated the physical principles of health and longevity, adopted the intellectual ideas surrounding Taoist philosophy, and integrated a focus on the self through its spiritual concepts and meditation. These characteristics have led some to describe Tai Chi as both a choreographed dance and moving meditation (Field, 2011; Jin, 1992).
Traditionally, Tai Chi is performed in a semi-squatting position, with movements which continuously shift the body weight across both legs (Xu, Li, & Hong, 2003). When practiced, the performer’s attention is placed on the speed, force, and trajectory of the body; such that, postures flow into one another in a slow, even, and smooth manner (Xu et al., 2003). It is perhaps a consequence of these characteristics that researchers are finding that Tai Chi can improve the postural stability of its practitioners (Xu et al., 2003).
Guan and Koceja (2011) used a force platform to compare the postural stability of 8 healthy adults (mean age 44 years) with more than 3 years of Tai Chi experience, to that of 8 healthy age-matched controls. Participants performed three trials of 15 seconds (s) each. The Tai Chi group demonstrated significantly less sway area than the control group under both eyes open (EO) and eyes closed (EC) conditions. Similarly, Wu, Zhao, Zhou, and Wei (2002) compared 20 older adults (age range greater than 55 years) with an average of 21 years of Tai Chi experience to 19 age-matched controls. The authors found that the older adults with a history of Tai Chi practice exhibited less sway area than the controls. Therefore, it was concluded that Tai Chi may have a positive influence on increasing postural stability among older adults. While these studies only examined long-term Tai Chi practitioners, postural stability improvement associated with Tai Chi has also been observed following short-term interventions.
Ghandali et al. (2017) examined the effects of a short-term (8-weeks) Tai Chi intervention in older adults with knee osteoarthritis. Sessions were held twice a week and lasted 60 minutes (min). Measures of postural stability were collected under EO conditions, on both a firm and foam surface. Data were collected for each condition over three 30 s trials. The Tai Chi intervention resulted in a significant reduction of sway area under firm surface conditions, in addition to a significant reduction of mean sway velocity (MSV) under both firm and foam surface conditions.
As Tai Chi has been classified as a low impact and moderate aerobic exercise, older adults have typically been the target demographic of much Tai Chi research (Wayne and Kaptchuk, 2008). Birdee et al. (2009), however, reported that age was not a significant factor influencing the practice of Tai Chi. The authors surveyed 429 Tai Chi practitioners, of which 23% were under the age of 30 years while only 15% were 65 years or older. Despite the diverse age demographics of Tai Chi practitioners, no research has examined the postural effects of Tai Chi in healthy young adults. Similarly, Tai Chi is not typically prescribed as an adjunct following musculoskeletal injury or surgery as part of the rehabilitation process to improve balance retraining and as such no research is available exploring this treatment option.