Effect of traditional Chinese exercise on gait and balance for stroke: systematic review and meta-analysis

Abstract

Objective A systematic review is conducted to determine the effect of traditional Chinese exercise for patients with stroke. MethodsStudies are obtained from PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library, EBSCO, Web of Science, and CNKI. Only randomized controlled trials were left to evaluate the effects of traditional Chinese exercise for patients with stroke, and with no limits on study data or language. The primary outcome was the Berg balance score (BBS), Functional walking scale. And a random-effects model was used to calculate the pooled mean difference (MD) with 95% confidence interval (CI). ResultsA total of 9 studies on 820 participants conform to the inclusion criteria, whereas eight studies on 704 participants are used as data sources for the meta-analysis, all trials were published between 2004 and 2013. The BBS indicates that the efficacy of traditional Chinese exercise on balance of patients with stroke is better than that of other training or no training in short term [MD (95%CI) = 11. 85 [5.41, 18.30], P < 0.00001]. And the short physical performance battery, Functional walking scale, limit of stability were observed significant differences on balance (p<0.05) and gait (p<0.05) between traditional Chinese exercise and other exercises or no exercise. In addition, there is an article showed that some other form (physiotherapy exercises focused on balance) significantly improved balance ability for stroke patients compared to tai chi chuan practice (Berg test = 0.01, Romberg, and standing on one leg). ConclusionIn our meta analysis, the positive findings of this study suggest traditional Chinese exercise has beneficial effects on the balance ability in short term. However, we drew the conclusion according to the extreme heterogeneity, and evidence of better quality and from a larger sample size is required. Because of the inconsistent outcomes, there are short of enough good evidence for patients with stroke to prove the effects of traditional Chinese exercise on gait.

Effects of traditional Chinese exercise on cognitive and psychological outcomes in older adults with mild cognitive impairment

“…What's more, some different opinions indicated that TCE maybe make things worse because of its adverse effects. [21] Currently, there are no consensus has been reached about the benefits of TCE for the maintenance of cognitive and psychological outcomes. Hence, the objective of this systematic review is to summarize reliable evidence on the effects of TCE on cognitive and psychological outcomes, incorporate all available RCTs, and to investigate relevant subgroups.…”

Association of traditional Chinese exercises with glycemic responses in people with type 2 diabetes: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials

“…Our analyses by studies of different intervention durations show that TCE interventions lasting >3–<12 months generally produced consistent results on reductions in both HbA1c and fasting blood glucose. These results could possibly be explained by the slow and meditative nature of exercises inherent in many of the TCE modalities being evaluated (e.g., Tai Ji Quan, Qigong, and Ba Duan Jin) 14, 15, 16. We found no long-term (i.e., ≥12 months) practice effect of TCEs on HbA1c.…”

“…Therefore, exercise is recommended for all individuals with diabetes as a part of the management of glycemic control and overall health 13 . In the past 2 decades, however, there has also been an increasing interest in discovering the health benefits of alternative, traditional Chinese exercises (TCEs) such as Tai Ji Quan, Qigong, and Ba Duan Jin 14, 15, 16. Emerging randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and meta-analyses have reported beneficial effects of TCEs on glycemic profile in people with type 2 diabetes 17, 18, 19, 20, 21…”

Revealing the Neural Mechanisms Underlying the Beneficial Effects of Tai Chi: A Neuroimaging Perspective

“…In the future, the effects of TCC on the prevention of neurodegeneration and the promotion of (Choi, et al, 2005) College students  Sit and reach test 60 min per section, 3 sections per week, 12 weeks (Zheng, et al, 2015) Balance and Gait Fall-pone older adults  Single leg stand test 35 min per section, 3 sections per week, 12 weeks (Choi, et al, 2005) Older adults with mobility disability  CoP mediolateral displacement and velocity in locomotion phase  CoP mediolateral excursions and resultant CoP center of mass distance in medial and forward conditions 60 min per section, 3 sections per week, 16 weeks (Vallabhajosula, et al, 2014) College students  Open eye perimeter and close eye perimeter in Pro-Kin system 60 min per section, 3 sections per week, 12 weeks (Zheng, et al, 2015) Elderly women  Comprehensive shake index  Front and back shake index 40 min per section, 6 sections per week, 12 months (Song, et al, 2014) Female older adults with knee osteoarthritis  Single leg stand test with eyes closed 20 min per section, 3 sections per week, 12 weeks, 12 forms of Sun style (Song, et al, 2003) Patients with stroke  Berg balance score Meta-analysis summary: A total of 8 studies on 704 subjects Mean difference (95%CI) = 11.85 [5.41, 18.3], P < 0.00001 (Chen, et al, 2015) Patients (Jones, et al, 2012) Irradiated nasopharyngeal cancer survivors  Single leg stand test with eye closed Trained with 18 forms of Tai Chi Qigong for more than 6 months Female (Li, et al, 2004) Motor Function and Exercise Capacity…”