The effectiveness of Tai Chi for chronic musculoskeletal pain conditions: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Full Abstract

OBJECTIVE: To determine whether Tai Chi improves pain, disability, physical performance, and/or health-related quality of life (HRQOL) in people with chronic musculoskeletal pain. METHODS: Eight databases were searched for randomized controlled trials (RCTs). Two independent reviewers rated trial quality and extracted trial data. Effect sizes and 95% confidence intervals were calculated for individual trials, and pooled effect sizes were calculated using a random-effects model. RESULTS: Seven RCTs were selected for inclusion in the review. Of these, 6 studied people with chronic arthritis and 1 studied people with chronic tension headaches. The trials were typically small and of low methodologic quality. The pooled effect size for arthritic populations on a 0-100 scale was 10.1 (range 6.3-13.9) points for pain reduction, and was 9.6 (range 5.2-14.0) points for disability reduction. Additionally, physical performance and HRQOL outcomes favored the Tai Chi intervention, but of these outcomes, only the level of tension and satisfaction with general health were statistically significant. CONCLUSION: The available data on the effect of Tai Chi are sparse and derived principally from low-quality studies. These data suggest that Tai Chi has a small positive effect on pain and disability in people with arthritis. The extent to which it benefits other forms of musculoskeletal pain is unclear.

Author information

Author/s: Hall, Amanda (A); Maher, Chris (C); Latimer, Jane (J); Ferreira, Manuela (M);

Affiliation: The George Institute for International Health, The University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. amandahall(-atsign-)george.org.au

Journal and publication information

Publication Type: Journal Article; Meta-Analysis; Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't; Review

Journal: Arthritis and rheumatism (Arthritis Rheum), published in United States. (Language: eng)

Reference: 2009-Jun; vol 61 (issue 6) : pp 717-24

Dates: Created 2009/06/16; Completed 2009/08/05;

PMID: 19479696, status: MEDLINE (last retrieval date: 8/21/2009, IMS Date: )

Sourced from the National Library of Medicine. Abstract text and other information may be subject to copyright.

External Links for this article
(including full text providers, if available):

Click Electronic Full-text Provider Links to see options for finding the electronic full text links to this article. Note there may be a subscription or fee required for access to the full text. See our FAQ for information on finding FREE full text articles.

This article may also be located in paper journal collections available in many libraries. Use the Journal and Publication Information above to find the full article.