ORIGINAL ARTICLE  EPIDEMIOLOGY AND CLINICAL MEDICINE 

The Journal of Sports Medicine and Physical Fitness 2020 February;60(2):282-8

DOI: 10.23736/S0022-4707.19.10104-1

Copyright © 2019 EDIZIONI MINERVA MEDICA

language: English

Effect of simplified Tai Chi exercise on relieving symptoms of patients with mild to moderate Parkinson’s disease

Mingjin ZHU ^{1, 2}, Yonghua ZHANG ^{2, 3}, Jiafei PAN ^{1, 4}, Changyong FU ⁵, Yaqun WANG ¹ ✉

¹ Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Tongde Hospital of Zhejiang Province, Zhejiang Chinese Medical University, Hanghzou, China; ² The Fourth School of Medicine, Zhejiang Chinese Medical University, Hanghzou, China; ³ Hanghzou Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Zhejiang Chinese Medical University, Hanghzou, China; ⁴ The First School of Medicine, Zhejiang Chinese Medical University, Hanghzou, China; ⁵ Department of Neurology, Tongde Hospital of Zhejiang Province, Zhejiang Chinese Medical University, Hanghzou, China

BACKGROUND: Tai Chi, a kind of physical exercise, may act as a non-pharmacologic approach to reducing the symptoms of Parkinson’s disease. This study was conducted to investigate the effect of simplified Tai Chi training plus routine exercise on motor and non-motor symptoms in patients with mild to moderate Parkinson’s disease in comparison with routine exercise regimen alone.
METHODS: Forty-one outpatients and inpatients with Parkinson’s disease (PD) were randomized into Tai Chi group (N.=19) and routine exercise group as control group (N.=22) for 12 weeks. The Tai Chi group included both Tai Chi traning and routine exercise. Motor and non-motor functions were assessed. Motor function was evaluated by Unified Parkinson’s Disease Rating Scale part III (UPDRS-III) and Berg Balance Scale (BBS). The non-motor symptoms like quality of life, sleep quality, depression and anxiety state, cognitive function were assessed by Parkinson’s Disease Questionnaire-39 (PDQ-39), Parkinson’s Disease Sleep Scale (PDSS), Hamilton Depression Scale (HAMD), Hamilton Anxiety Scale (HAMA), Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MOCA) respectively.
RESULTS: After 12 weeks of intervention, participants in both Tai Chi and routine exercise groups gained effects in UPDRS-III, BBS, PDQ-39, PDSS and HAMD compared to the baseline. However, significant improvements between Tai Chi group and routine exercise group were only found in PDSS (P=0.029) and MoCA (P=0.024).
CONCLUSIONS: Tai Chi training plus routine exercise might therefore be an ideal alternative non-pharmacological approach for the motor and non-motor symptoms of PD patients, and especially be more useful for the improvement of sleep quality and cognitive function in Parkinson’s disease compared with routine exercise regimen alone.

KEY WORDS: Parkinson disease; Tai Ji; Exercise; Therapeutics