Tai Chi Eases Pain of Fibromyalgia, Study Says

Tai chi eases pain of fibromyalgia

The deliberate, slow movements of tai chi are better for relief of symptoms, including pain, in sufferers of fibromyalgia than other stretching exercises, a research study by physicians published Wednesday in the New England Journal of Medicine.

During a period of three months, 33 subjects were monitored performing tai chi’s movement and breathing exercises, said research head Dr. Chenchen Wang of the Tufts University School of Medicine in Boston.

“Week by week they changed. The pain and depression improved, and a lot of people were depressed,” said Wang. “They feel better. People said it changed their life. Only two or three feel it didn’t help.”

The researchers said that a larger study must be done in the future to determine if factors like the enthusiasm of the instructor played a role in the findings, but Dr. Gloria Yeh of the Beth Israeal Deaconess Medical Center in Boston said that it may be time to give tai chi some credit.

“Aside from reductions in pain, patients in the tai chi group reported improvements in mood, quality of life, sleep, self-efficacy and exercise capacity,” Yeh and her colleagues commented in the same journal.

"The potential efficacy and lack of adverse effects now make it reasonable for physicians to support patients' interest in exploring these types of exercises, even if it is too early to take out a prescription pad and write 'tai chi,'" they added.

Some 200 million people around the word are known to be suffer from fibromyalgia, a disease which is difficult to diagnose and treat. Its symptoms include pain, fatigue, stiffness of joints, and sleep disturbances. Evidence suggests that a person’s heightened sensitivity to pain may cause the disease.

People with fibromyalgia often employ alternative therapies such as tai chi, acupuncture, massage, or yoga, to seek relief from symptoms.

Tai chi was originally a Chinese martial art that is characterized by slow, purposeful, and graceful movements, accompanied by slow breathing and relaxation techniques to control a hypothetical energy or “chi” throughout the body.

Posted by George Daniels on Thursday August 19 2010, 9:20 AM EST. All trademarks acknowledged. Filed under Featured News, Health. Comments and Trackbacks closed. Follow responses: RSS 2.0