"Doctors recommend tai chi for people with a variety of musculoskeletal conditions because it improves flexibility and builds muscle strength gradually.  "There's no doubt that tai chi, done properly, can be a beneficial exercise for people with arthritis," says Paul Lam, MD, a Sydney-based family practitioner and tai chi master who designed the Australian arthritis program.  Martin Lee, a tai chi authority and author of many books who has directed classes for years, says he has seen many people's overall health improve as they do tai chi. "Tai chi relieves stress," he says. "It can be very healing."  Tai chi is an exercise almost anyone who can walk can do safely, says Dr. Lam, who began doing tai chi nearly 30 years ago for his own osteoarthritis. Tai chi takes the joints gently through their range of motion, he says, while the emphasis on breathing and inner stillness relieves stress and anxiety. Classes are inexpensive, and it can be practiced almost anywhere at any time, with no special equipment or clothing.  Peter Stein, MD, a Greenbrae, Calif., rheumatologist, says he finds tai chi especially good for people with fibromyalgia and those with a high level of muscle pain. "People in pain often can't even do yoga," he says. "They need something milder and more soothing, and tai chi is very good for relieving pain."  Philip Mease, MD, a Seattle rheumatologist, says people who say they don't like exercise enjoy and stick to tai chi. "When people enjoy it, they are more likely to continue to exercise alone, or in a group, which I think is more fun," he says."
-  By Judith Horstman, Arthritis Foundation Recommends Tai Chi

 

 

"Tai Chi exercise, an ancient Chinese martial art, has drawn more and more attention for its health benefits. The purpose of the study was to identify the effects of a Sun-style Tai Chi exercise on arthritic symptoms (joint pain and stiffness), motivation for performing health behaviors, and the performance of health behaviors among older women with osteoarthritis.  Total of 72 women with the mean age of 63 years old were recruited from outpatients clinic or public health centers according to the inclusion criteria and assigned randomly to either the Tai Chi exercise group or the control. A Sun-style Tai Chi exercise has been provided three times a week for the first two weeks, and then once a week for another 10 weeks. In 12 weeks of study period, 22 subjects in the Tai Chi exercise group and 21 subjects in the control group completed the posttest measure with the dropout rate of 41%. Outcome variables included arthritic symptoms measured by K-WOMAC, motivation for health behavior, and health behaviors.  At the completion of the 12 week Tai Chi exercise, the Tai Chi group perceived significantly less joint pain (t=-2.19, p=0.03) and stiffness (t=-2.24, p=0.03), perceived more health benefits (t=2.67, p=0.01), and performed better health behaviors (t=2.35, p=0.02), specifically for diet behavior (t=2.06, p=0.04) and stress management (t=2.97, p=0.005).  A Sun-style Tai Chi exercise was found as beneficial for women with osteoarthritis to reduce their perceived arthritic symptoms, improve their perception of health benefits to perform better health behaviors."
-  Effects on a Sun-style Tai Chi Exercise on Arthritic Symptons, 2015  

 

 

"Each of the following types of exercises plays a role in maintaining and improving the ability to move and function:  Range of motion or flexibility exercises. Range of motion refers to the ability to move your joints through the full motion they were designed to achieve. These exercises include gentle stretching and movements that take joints through their full span. Doing these exercises regularly can help maintain and improve the flexibility in the joints.  Aerobic/endurance exercise. These exercises strengthen the heart and make the lungs more efficient. This conditioning also reduces fatigue and builds stamina. Aerobic exercise also helps control weight by increasing the amount of calories the body uses. Aerobic exercises include walking, jogging, bicycling, swimming or using the elliptical machine.  Strengthening exercises. These exercises help maintain and improve muscle strength. Strong muscles can support and protect joints that are affected by arthritis. Two types of exercise are particularly good for most people with osteoarthritis.  Walking. It is (usually) free, it is easy on the joints and it comes with a host of benefits. One major plus is that it improves circulation – and wards off heart disease, lowers blood pressure and, as an aerobic exercise, strengthens the heart.  It also lowers the risk of fractures (by stopping or slowing down the loss of bone mass) and tones muscles that support joints.  Aquatic (water) exercises. These are particularly helpful for people just beginning to exercise as well as those who are overweight. Aquatic exercises do not involve swimming, rather they are performed while s tanding in about shoulder-height water. The water helps relieve the pressure of your body’s weight on the affected joints (hips and knees in particular), while providing resistance for your muscles to get stronger. Regular aquatic exercise can help relieve pain and improve daily function in people with hip and knee OA."
-  What Exercises Are Best for Osteoarthritis, Arthritis Foundation of America

 

 

"Tai Chi Chuan's many health benefits include increased strength, energy (Chi or Ki), balance, mobility, flexibility and coordination, along with an improved ability to handle mental and emotional stress, better concentration and improved posture. Today many doctors recommend Tai Chi to their patients to help rehabilitate themselves with both physical and mental problems. Many of the ailments include but are not limited to arthritis, rheumatism, heart disease, cerebral palsy, fibromyalgia, M.S., A.D.D., ostyroparlysis, anxiety and panic attacks, back and knee injuries, and cancer too name just a few. In fact many major foundations and organizations like The Arthritis Foundation recommend Tai Chi as a beneficial aid to help keep patients in remission."
-   Master Dodaro, Chicago Tai Chi Chuan and Shaolin Kenpo

 

 

"T'ai Chi is proven quite safe for the symptoms of most arthritis sufferers, and what is best about this exercise is that they don't need any equipment or special clothes.  They can do T'ai Chi ... any time during their daily life."
-  Rhayun Song, 2002, From a presentation at the annual meeting of the American College of Rheumatology in San Francisco.  

 

 

"In the largest study to date of the Arthritis Foundation’s Tai Chi program, participants showed improvement in pain, fatigue, stiffness and sense of well-being.  Their ability to reach while maintaining balance also improved, said Leigh Callahan, PhD, the study’s lead author, associate professor in the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine and a member of UNC’s Thurston Arthritis Research Center.  “Our study shows that there are significant benefits of the Tai Chi course for individuals with all types of arthritis, including fibromyalgia, rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis,” Callahan said. “We found this in both rural and urban settings across a southeastern state and a northeastern state.”  In the study, 354 participants were recruited from 20 sites in North Carolina and New Jersey. They were randomly assigned to two groups. The intervention group received the 8-week, twice-weekly Tai Chi course immediately while the other group was a delayed control group. All participants received baseline and 8-week follow-up evaluations, after which the control group also received the Tai Chi course.Self-reports of pain, fatigue and stiffness and physical function performance measures were collected at baseline and at the eight-week evaluation. Participants were asked questions about their ability to perform activities of daily living, their overall general health and psychosocial measures such as their perceived helplessness and self-efficacy. The physical performance measures recorded were timed chair stands (which are a measure of lower extremity strength), gait speed (both normal and fast) and two measures of balance: a single leg stance and a reach test.  At the end of eight weeks the individuals who had received the intervention showed moderate improvements in pain, fatigue and stiffness. They also had an increased sense of well being, as measured by the psychosocial variables, and they had improved reach or balance, Callahan said."
-  Tai Chi Relieves Arthritis Pain, Improves Reach, Balance, and Well-Being, University of North Carolina, 2010 

 

 

"Two papers have demonstrated that people with rheumatoid arthritis can safely practice Tai Chi Chuan without exacerbating symptoms.  Kirsteins divided 40 patients in two groups: 20 controls and 20 who participated in Tai Chi Chuan.  He found that Tai Chi caused no significant exacerbation of joint symptoms.  He concluded that Tai Chi Chuan could serve as an integral part of their rehabilitation program.  In a second randomized prospective study by Deusen, 16 patients who participated in a Tai Chi Chuan program were found to have greater upper extremity range of motion than the control group who did not participate in any exercise program."
-   Bill Gallagher, Clinical Trails Show How Tai Chi Chuan Helps Heart, Arthritis, and Motor Function.

 

 

"Of the approximately 50 million Americans diagnosed with arthritis, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that 27 million have OA. If you or someone you love suffers from OA, yoga can help relieve pain and stiffness. Begin your yoga practice slowly, and keep it gentle—be sure to always warm up first. If in doubt, talk to your doctor about what types of yoga might be best for your particular condition, and seek an instructor who is experienced in working with people who have physical limitations."
-  Best Yoga Poses for Osteoarthritis, Healthline

 

 

"Doing research on the health benefits of tai chi is challenging because although we all know that tai chi has many benefits, some of those benefits can be difficult to define. In fact, the most interesting and subtle aspects of tai chi are the most difficult to research.  Therefore, we look at qualities that are easy to measure, such as balance and strength.  It's important to compare two completely identical groups and expose one to Tai Chi for Arthritis training and give the other group a different exercise, or just place them on a wait list. The professionals who measure the participants before and after the study don't know which individuals are in the tai chi group, so the results those professionals will give are unbiased. This is called a "blind, randomized controlled trial" and is considered the most reliable type of research."
-  Stephanie Taylor, MD, 11/2003, Tai Chi for Arthritis Newsletter #2 

 

 

"Studies have shown that exercise helps people with arthritis in many ways. Exercise reduces joint pain and stiffness and increases flexibility, muscle strength, cardiac fitness, and endurance. It also helps with weight reduction and contributes to an improved sense of well-being.   Exercise is one part of a comprehensive arthritis treatment plan. Treatment plans also may include rest and relaxation, proper diet, medication, and instruction about proper use of joints and ways to conserve energy (that is, not waste motion) as well as the use of pain relief methods."
-  National Institute of Arthritis

 

 

"A new study confirms what has been reported by other researchers since 1996 – Tai Chi, a martial arts form that enhances balance and body awareness through slow, graceful and precise body movements, can improve balance, build strength and reduce the risk of falls in the elderly.  The new study published in the Journal of Advanced Nursing reported on a group of fall-prone senior citizens, with an average age of 78, living in residential care. Twenty nine undertook a 12-week Tai Chi course three times a week and 30 formed the non-exercise control group.  They found that the physical fitness of the exercise group showed significant improvement, with stronger knee and ankle muscles, improved mobility and flexibility and better balance."
-   Tai Chi Reduces Falls in Older People, Senior Journal, 6/27/05

 

 

Yoga exercises recommended by Timothy McCall, M.D., Yoga as Medicine, 2007, pp. 151-168.  All of these exercises are show with the elderly person using a chair, a table, the wall, or a strap for safe support and balance:

1.  Reclining Cobbler's Pose (Supta Baddha Konasana)
2.  Half Standing Forward Bend (Ardha Uttanasana) 
3.  Warrior Pose (Virabhadrasana II) 
4.  Triangle Pose (Trikonasana) 
5.  Supine Hand to Foor Pose to Side (Supta Padangusthasana II) 
6.  Supine Hand to Foot Pose to Middle (Supta Padangusthasana I) 
7.  Supported Relaxation Pose (Savasana) 

 

 

"Over 75 scientific trials have been published on yoga in major medical journals. These studies have shown that yoga is a safe and effective way to increase physical activity that also has important psychological benefits due to its meditative nature. As with other forms of exercise, yoga can increase muscle strength, improve flexibility, enhance respiratory endurance, and promote balance.  Yoga is also associated with increased energy and fewer bodily aches and pains.  Finally, yoga is associated with increased mental energy as well as positive feelings (such as alertness and enthusiasm), fewer negative feelings (reduced excitability, anxiety, aggressiveness) and somatic complaints. In summary, yoga is associated with a wide range of physical and psychological benefits that may be especially helpful for persons living with a chronic illness.

Additionally, physical activity is an essential part of the effective treatment of osteoarthritis (OA) and rheumatoid arthritis (RA), according to treatment guidelines published by the American College of Rheumatology. In persons with arthritis, exercise is safe and does not exacerbate pain or worsen disease.  In fact, exercise may play a key role in promoting joint health, since those who do not exercise often suffer more joint discomfort than those who do.  The health and psychological benefits of exercise are widely recognized.  However, regular physical activity is especially important for people with arthritis, who often have decreased muscle strength, physical energy, and endurance, in part due to their arthritis and the tendency to be sedentary.  Being sedentary can began a downward spiral where pain increases, leading to more inactivity which leads to greater pain and disability. The psychological benefits of exercise such as stress reduction, fewer depressive symptoms, improved coping and well-being and enhanced immune functioning also contribute to greater overall health."
-  Steffany Haaz,  Yoga for Arthritis.  John Hopkins Medical, Arthritis Center.

 

 

"Sharon Kolasinski, MD, a professor of clinical medicine and a rheumatologist at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia studied the effects of yoga on people with knee osteoarthritis (OA). She found that subjects taking 90-minute, modified Iyengar yoga classes once a week for eight weeks reported significant reductions in pain and improvements in physical function, as well as noticeable improvements in joint stiffness. Yoga poses were modified to accommodate the fact that people with knee OA may not be able to bend their joints as far as others, and Iyengar yoga allows participants to use chairs, blocks or other aids to help them balance during poses.  “Yoga is definitely one option for people with arthritis. Not only for the exercise benefits, but it’s also beneficial in the mind/body area, promoting relaxation and stress reduction,” says Dr. Kolasinksi.  Subhadra Evans, PhD, a researcher at the University of California at Los Angeles Medical Center, agrees. After conducting a small study of the effects of six weeks of Iyengar yoga on a group of women with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), Evans was impressed by yoga’s immediate, positive impact on people with a serious chronic disease. “I was surprised by how strong those results were,” she says."
-  Susan Bernstein, Yoga Benefits for Arthritis, Arthritis Foundation of America

 

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Tips and Suggestions for Helping You Deal with Arthritis

 

1.  Choose a gentle exercise program.  Avoid overexertion and straining.  Be gentle and kind to yourself.  Choose a safe exercise regimen appropriate to your fitness level and the recommendations of your physician and/or other trusted and qualified fitness advisors.  If the exercise regimen moves quickly, uses heavy weights, causes you to sweat to much, is too difficult, is too complicated, and is just too vigorous for you ... then find an exercise regiment more suited to your physical condition and limitations caused by arthritis.  Easier is better; but consistency in daily practice and variety are the most important factors for success.  Consider exercising in water.  Avoid sedentary laziness.  Avoid sitting too much. 

2.  Try eating different foods.  Change your diet.  Read books about anti-inflammatory eating plans.  Keep track of what foods that you eat negatively effect your level, degree, extent, or range of arthritic discomfort, movement limitations, and/or pain.  Learn more about the current trends in medical science and nutrition as they relate to eating and arthritis.  Try limited fasting, juicing, vegan, or not eating certain foods for a couple of weeks to determine the effects on your arthritic condition. 

3.  Seek appropriate medical advice.  Read and study reports about the medical science pertaining to arthritis: treatment options, oral medications, mental dimensions affecting this disease, alternative and complimentary arthritis therapies, new edge research, drawbacks of treatment options, surgical options, etc.  Become informed and educated about your disease.  Some skepticism and a "wait and see" attitude may be beneficial at times; however, you also might benefit from experimentation, trying alternatives, and being more open-minded. 

4.  Be observant about how you talk about "pain."  Are you being vague, inconsistent, muddled, unclear or confused when you talk about "pain."  Improve your descriptive vocabulary regarding your feelings and sensations in terms of their intensity, duration, and impact on your life.  Consider the function and meaning in using words like: uncomfortable, discomfort, aching, sore, tender, sharp, dull, intense, pain, deep, occasional, frequent, pain scale of 1-10, range of movement limitations, burning, inflamed, hot, a few seconds of pain, intense, mild, excruciating, infrequent, mornings only, exact location, while being still, while moving ...

5.  Avoid being a "cry baby," exaggeration, attention grabbing, or "woe is me."  Some people feign or exaggerate their arthritic pain and discomfort to get attention from others, or to avoid work.  Toughen up!   Find ways of getting love, support, respect, and attention without playing the "I'm in pain" game.  Some arthritic conditions are very painful and debilitating and warrant seeking regular medical assistance and extra support from others; however, many arthritic conditions are far less severe and warrant less complaining and less help.  If you are over 60 years of age, arthritic discomfort is quite common, and aging is not for sissies; hang in there, don't whine, and tough it out.  Do you have psychological issues that affect your perception and explanation of "pain"?     

 

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Michael P. Garofalo

Tai Chi for Arthritis Instructor
23005 Kilkenny Lane
Red Bluff, California 96080
Phone: 530-200-3546
Send E-mail to Mike
Website:  Arthritis Therapy - Exercise: Tai Chi and Qigong

 

Mike Garofalo was certified by Dr. Paul Lam, M.D., in 2002, to teach the Tai Chi for Arthritis program.  Mike was certified in the Tai Chi for Arthritis, Part 2 Course, on April 2, 2006, by the authorized Tai Chi for Arthritis Master Trainer, Troyce Thome.  The Tai Chi for Arthritis program was created by Dr. Paul Lam and supported by the Arthritis Foundation of Australia, Arthritis Care of UK, and adapted by the Arthritis Foundation of the United States of America.  

In the one hour class, Mike teaches the standard Tai Chi for Arthritis program: 10 minutes of gentle warming up exercises, 40 minutes of Sun-style Tai Chi movement, and 10 minutes of cooling down exercises.  This gentle, energizing, and interesting exercise program is suitable for all adults; and, especially beneficial for individuals with arthritis and for all senior citizens.  Students can sit and rest anytime as needed.  Persons with any serious medical problems should, of course, consult with their doctor before beginning any new exercise program.   

Sun style of T'ai Chi Ch'uan was created by Grand Master Sun Lu-Tang (1861-1933).  It is one of the five major styles of T'ai Chi Ch'uan practiced around the world.   Sun T'ai Chi Ch'uan is known for its upright and high stances, supporting "follow step" footwork, and energizing (Qigong) open-close movements.  The Tai Chi for Arthritis version of the Sun style of T'ai Chi Ch'uan, developed by Dr. Paul Lam, includes an 11 movement introductory movement form, and then a 30 movement intermediate form (which includes the 11 movement form).  All T'ai Chi Ch'uan movement forms emphasize relaxation (Sung), correct posture, concentration, elegance, balance, openness, playfulness, calmness, and the effective use of the energy in the body.  There is great depth to the mind-body arts of T'ai Chi Ch'uan, so that people can develop a lifelong exercise habit to improve their fitness, health, vitality and sense of well being.   


Michael P. Garofalo, M.S., has studied T'ai Chi Ch'uan since 1986, and has been teaching T'ai Chi Ch'uan and Qigong since 2000 for the Valley Spirit Center in Red Bluff, California.  He also teaches T'ai Chi Ch'uan, Qigong and Yoga at the Tehama Family Fitness Center in Red Bluff, California.  He teaches the Yang and Sun styles of T'ai Chi Ch'uan, and many Qigong forms. 

 

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Research and Indexing by
Michael P. Garofalo

Green Way Research, Valley Spirit Center, Gushen Grove Notebooks, Red Bluff, California
Green Way Research, 2003-2015. 
Indexed and Compiled by Michael P. Garofalo
 

This webpage was last modified or updated on August 10, 2015.  
 
This webpage was first distributed online on March 10, 2002. 

 

This webpage work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Created by Michael P. Garofalo, Green Way Research, Valley Spirit Center, Gushen Grove Notebooks, Red Bluff, California, © 2015 CCA 4.0

 

 

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