Chin J Integr Med

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CLINICAL EXPERIENCE Effect of Tai Chi on Muscle Strength of the Lower Extremities in the Elderly ZHOU Ming (周 明)1, PENG Nan (彭 楠)1, DAI Qiang (代 强)2, LI Hong-wei (李宏伟)3, SHI Rong-guang (石荣光)4, and HUANG Wei (黄 卫)5 Objective: Aging is associated with a progressive decline in muscle strength, muscle mass and ABSTRACT Objective: impaired physical function, which reduces mobility and impairs quality of life in the elderly population. The 6–12 months of exercise can enhance the muscle strength, but these improvements can only be maintained for a short period. In this study, we investigated the effects of long-term Tai Chi (TC) exercise on muscle strength of lower Methods:: A cross-sectional study was conducted in 205 long-term TC practitioners (age: 60–89 years) extremities. Methods and 205 age and gentle matched controls who did not practice TC. Each of the activity group was further divided into three distinct age groups: G1, 60–69 years; G2, 70–79 years; and G3, 80–89 years. Hand-held dynamometery was used to measure the maximum isometric strength of iliopsoas, quadriceps femoris, tibialis anterior and hamstrings in both sides of the participants. Unpaired t tests were performed to compare the difference of strength between the TC and non-Tai Chi (NTC) groups. Multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) was used to compare the lower muscle strengths among the different age groups in the TC and NTC groups. Pearson's correlations were Results:: used to quantify the linear relationship between the months of TC practice and lower limbs muscle strength. Results The inter-rater reliabilities of iliopsoas, quadriceps femoris, tibialis anterior and hamstrings were intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) (1,1) = 0.895 (0.862–0.920), ICC (2,2) = 0.905 (0.874–0.928), ICC (3,3) = 0.922 (0.898–0.941) and ICC (4,4) = 0.930 (0.908–0.947). The strength of the muscles in the TC group did not differ among different age groups (P >0.05). The strength of iliopsoas, quadriceps femoris, tibialis anterior and hamstrings in TC group was higher than that in the NTC group (P 0.05).

Test-Retest Reliability When all TC participants finished the first measurement, they also received a second assessment from another doctor. Each muscle was tested twice. The inter-rater reliabilities of iliopsoas, quadriceps femoris, tibialis anterior and hamstrings were ICC (1,1) = 0.895 (0.862–0.920), ICC (2,2) = 0.905 (0.874–0.928) ICC (3,3) = 0.922 (0.898–0.941) and ICC (4,4) = 0.930 (0.908-0.947), which indicated good reliability.

Statistical Analysis

The Change of Muscle Strength with Aging

To ensure data reliability, the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) was used to assess the test retest reliability of the measurement. Unpaired t tests were performed to compare all parameters between the male participants in the TC and NTC groups and between female participants in the TC and NTC groups. Multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) was used to compare the lower muscle strengths among the different groups in TC and NTC groups, and If a statistically significant difference was found in the MANOVA, post hoc analysis using Bonferoni adjustment was conducted. Pearson's correlations were used to quantify the linear relationship between

In males, the strength of all four muscles declined with age in the NTC group (G3

Effect of Tai Chi on muscle strength of the lower extremities in the elderly.

Aging is associated with a progressive decline in muscle strength, muscle mass and impaired physical function, which reduces mobility and impairs qual...
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