T'AI CHI FOR BALANCE DISORDERS

我们的长期目标是提高运动能力，减少受伤

Our long-term goal is to improve mobility and decrease injury due to falls in persons with balance disorders. Our specific aim is to determine if eight weeks of daily practice of an alternative health care exercise, T'ai Chi, can significantly improve balance of persons with "high-level" (mild) balance disorders. We propose to study 30 persons with stable mild balance disorders, with imbalance defined by their score on the Duke Mobility Skills protocol. We will recruit 10 persons in each of 3 age groups: 20-44, 46-60, and 61 and beyond. Prospective subjects will undergo a set of pre-training assessment instruments including a Dizziness Handicap Inventory (Jacobson et al, 1990), a falls self-report questionnaire, the Duke Mobility Skills Protocol, the Mini Mental screen (Folstein et al, 1975), and have their postural sway measured using a posture platform (Smart BalanceMaster). They will then undergo 8 weeks of daily T'ai Chi practice, after which they will again undergo assessment. Three months after the course, they will return for a final set of assessments and an ascertainment of continued practice of T'ai Chi. Scores from the assessments instruments will be collated, and we will determine if there is a significant change between start and end of the course. For simple comparisons, looking for changes in measures, we will use paired t-tests, each subject being their own control. We will use analysis of variance (ANOVA), including a nonparametric form when required, to determine if age or degree of compliance with exercises has a significant effect on changes in scores. This study will determine whether T'ai Chi can improve balance in persons with mild balance disorders. It will also provide information as to whether there is a difference in effect between younger and older persons. These data may be used to justify a study of a larger number of subjects, as well as determine whether a study comparing results from traditional physical therapy to T'ai Chi should be undertaken.