Physical Activity Review (Jul 2018)

Self-assessment of health condition and its association with the risk of fracture of Tai Chi practitioners

  • Agata Milert,
  • Wiktoria Klich,
  • Tomasz Ridan

DOI
https://doi.org/10.16926/par.2018.06.17
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 6
pp. 127 – 135

Abstract

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Introduction:The positive impact of Tai Chi on body balance and coordination has been confirmed in many intervention and prevention programs for elderly people, especially in the field of falls and fractures. The aim of the study was to determine the impact of a six-month Tai Chi program on self-assessment of health condition of practitioners aged 50 years and older. The relationship between this variable and 10-year fracture risk was also evaluated. Material and Methods:The study involved 41 persons aged 50 and more (mean 61.5, SD=6.1) - beginning tai chi practice. Self-assessment of health condition was performed using a 5-point scale, while a 10-year fracture risk was estimated using both the FRAX calculator and the GARVAN nomogram (on-line versions). Self-assessment of health condition was conducted during the first and sixth month of Tai Chi classes. The fracture risk was assessed at the beginning of the training program. Results:There was a statistically significant improvement in self-assessment of health condition after 6 months of tai chi practice both in the whole study group (p=0.0023) and in the subgroup of women (p=0.0005). Perceived improvement was independent of age. There was also a correlation between better self-assessment of health condition measured before Tai Chi program and lower 10-year fracture risk calculated from GARVAN nomogram (p=0.0146). Greater improvement in self-assessment of health conditions a result of Tai Chi program was reported for participants with lower 10-year fracture risk estimated by GARVAN nomogram (p=0.0642). Conclusions:Health benefits from participating in the 6-month Tai Chi program have occurred in community-dwelling elderly people regardless of their age. Due to the different algorithms used in the FRAX and GARVAN tools and different definition of the term "osteoporotic fracture", it is not possible to directly compare the results obtained with these two methods.

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