International Journal of Nursing Sciences (Jul 2017)

The effect of Tai Chi exercise on motor function and sleep quality in patients with stroke: A meta-analysis

  • Yufeng Li,
  • Yajing Zhang,
  • Chuyun Cui,
  • Yaqian Liu,
  • Mengjie Lei,
  • Tingting Liu,
  • Lina Meng,
  • Changde Jin

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijnss.2017.06.001
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 4, no. 3
pp. 314 – 321

Abstract

Read online

Objective: The meta-analysis is to objectively evaluate the efficacy of Tai Chi exercise for motor function and sleep quality in patients with stroke. Methods: Randomized controlled trials(RCTs) about the effects of Tai Chi versus a non-exercise or conventional rehabilitation exercise control group on motor function and sleep quality in patients with stroke were searched from multiple electronic databases(PubMed, Web of Science, the Cochrane Library, EMBASE, AMED, CBM, CNKI, Wanfang and VIP) until August 2016. Two investigators independently screened eligible studies, extracted data, and assessed the methodological quality by using the quality evaluation criteria for RCTs recommended by Cochrane Handbook. Then meta-analysis was performed by RevMan5.3 software. Results: A total of 17 RCTs with 1209 participants were included. The meta-analysis indicated that there was a significant difference on improving the balance function(P 0.05). Conclusion: Tai Chi exercise can significantly improve the balance function and ability of daily activities of patients with stroke, and there are no significant differences in walking function and sleep quality. Therefore, lots of multicenter, large-sample, higher quality randomized controlled trials are needed to verify the effects of Tai Chi exercise in improving walking function and sleep quality for patients with stroke.

Keywords