Reduced Cognitive-Motor Interference on Voluntary Balance Control in Older Tai Chi Practitioners.
Rini Varghese, Christina W Y Hui-Chan, Tanvi Bhatt
PMID 26288232WHAT IT FOUND
Older adults who practiced Tai Chi showed less decline in balance and thinking speed when doing both tasks at once compared to non-practitioners.
They moved their center of pressure quicker and made fewer errors on the counting task while balancing.
Key findings
01Tai Chi practitioners had significantly faster reaction times and maintained movement velocity better during dual-task conditions compared to non-practitioners, who slowed down significantly.
02Non-practitioners showed a significant drop in cognitive performance (counting accuracy) when balancing, whereas Tai Chi practitioners maintained similar cognitive scores between single and dual-task conditions.
03Tai Chi practitioners expended fewer cognitive and motor resources during dual-tasking, indicated by lower 'costs' (percent change from single to dual task) for reaction time and cognitive scores.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTsWhat it means for OTsWhat it means for SLPs
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What it does not show
The study was cross-sectional, so it cannot prove that Tai Chi caused the better performance. It is possible that people with better natural balance and cognition were more likely to take up Tai Chi. The sample size was very small (20 participants total), which limits the generalizability of the findings. The study did not control for the total amount of Tai Chi practice beyond a minimum of 100 hours in the last year, so the dose-response relationship is unknown. The non-practitioners were not matched for other physical activities, though they were matched for age and baseline cognitive status.
Declared interests
The authors declare no conflicts of interest.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that Tai Chi causes these benefits. This was a cross-sectional comparison of existing practitioners and non-practitioners, not a randomized trial of Tai Chi training. The difference could be due to pre-existing traits in the Tai Chi group.