The Effect of Tai Chi Exercise on Postural Time-to-Contact in Manual Fitting Task among Older Adults

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

8-25-2020

Publication Title

Gait & Posture

DOI

10.1016/j.gaitpost.2020.08.124

ISSN

1879-2219

Abstract

Background

A fall would impact elderly population’s quality of life, which associate with diminished physical and psychological function, and can even be life-threatening. Tai Chi has been used to improve age-related postural instability in locomotion. However, it does not fully explain the mechanism of a lower risk of falling among the Tai Chi population compared to other healthy older adults.

Research question

The maintenance of postural stability is more complicated than minimizing postural movements. Postural time to contact is an important temporal measure of postural stability under fitting tasks, which might further clarify the benefits of long term Tai Chi exercise.

Methods

Participants were required to fit a block (90 × 90 mm) through two different openings (130 × 130 mm and 100 × 100 mm) at two different distances (arm’s length or 130 % of arm’s length). Kistler forceplate and Vicon system were used to collect center of pressure and kinematic data, respectively. Postural time to contact was used to assess instantaneous perturbation for postural system.

Results

Tai Chi group exhibited significant longer postural time to contact in quiet standing and shorter postural time to contact in fitting tasks, expecting for close-small condition, compared to the brisk walking and sedentary groups (p < .05). In addition, both large and small opening condition, Tai Chi group showed a shorter postural time to contact than brisk walking and sedentary groups (p < .0001).

Significance

Long term Tai Chi exercise would promote the regulation of posture and decrease the postural constrain to increase the overall stability when performing fitting tasks. Therefore, Tai Chi exercise can be considered as a feasible method to enhance postural control and stability in older adult.

Comments

Copyright belongs to Elsevier. Information regarding the dissemination and usage of journal articles can be accessed through the following links.

Link to Full Text

Share

COinS