Seated Tai Chi Helps Older People in Wheelchairs with Mood States and self-Efficacy
September 16, 2016 - A recent randomized controlled trial by Griffith University in Brisbane, Australia and Dayeh University in Taiwan sought to compare the effects of seated Tai Chi exercise and usual standard activities on mood states and self-efficacy in older people living in a long-term care facility and using wheelchairs for mobilization.
Sixty participants from a long-term-care facility in Taiwan were randomly assigned by a computer-generated random sequence to a Tai Chi group or a usual exercise and entertainment activities group.
The Tai Chi group performed the Seated Tai Chi exercise for 40 minutes three times a week for 26 weeks. At week 26, participants in the Tai Chi group reported significantly lower mood states on the fatigue-inertia dimension of the POMS-SF than did the control group. The Tai Chi group recorded significantly higher SEE levels than did those in the control group.
The findings, published by the Journal of alternative and complementary medicine in September, 2016, highlight the importance of Tai Chi for a reduction in the fatigue-inertia mood state and an increase in self-efficacy for older people using wheelchairs.