Another Reason for doing Tai Chi
Researchers from the Mayo Clinic have uncovered a new physiological reason why for some suffers, arthritic knee pain might not be so bad. Dr Shreyasee Amin and her team followed 265 arthritis sufferers for 30 months, and monitored their quadriceps strength against cartilage loss. The people with good quadriceps strength (top third of the group) showed a 60 percent lower risk of losing cartilage, had less knee pain and better physical function.
We all know that correct practice of Tai Chi should help to develop and strengthen your quadriceps (those muscles that run down the front of your leg from your hip to your knee). Now there is even more reason to sink down in to a horse stance!
Dr Amin did go on to say “Having a qualified physician or therapist work with you is important for you to do the exercises correctly and so you don’t injure yourself in other ways.” At Tai Chi Australia we always encourage you to consult your doctor or specialist before starting Tai Chi and never to do anything that hurts or feels uncomfortable. If you want to develop your quadriceps and help combat arthritic knee pain, please talk to your instructor at your next class.
The Margaret Young Place
Margaret was known to thousands of Tasmanians as the person who gave Tasmanians Yoga and Tai Chi. Margaret Young Place is an outdoor rest and exercise area at Ockerby Gardens adjoining Launceston General Hospital. It will be a great place for rehabilitation patients, other inpatients and their visitors at the hospital to sit and get some fresh air.
Tai Chi Australia hosts Qigong Masters
Masters Sun Jingguo & Yan Tao and Professors Xiang Hanping and Wang Zhen with some of our TCA students at the Australian Day Celebration.
Tai Chi Australia had the honour of hosting two separate groups of Qigong Masters and Professors from the Chinese Health Qigong Association over the past few months.
The Masters/Professors conducted intensive workshops in both Victoria and Tasmania receiving extremely positive feedback from all the participants.
Tai Chi a good sleep strategy
THE PULSE: Compiled by Dr Christine White | June 28, 2008
CHINESE martial arts could help overcome insomnia in older adults, finds a new study in Sleep.
The study involved 112 healthy adults aged 59 to 86 randomly assigned to one of two groups for a 25-week period. One group practised 20 simple moves of tai chi chih -- the "westernised" version of the ancient art -- while the other group participated in health education classes covering sleep habits, diet and stress management.
At the start of the study, 58 per cent of participants reported having difficulty sleeping at least a few nights each week. After 25 weeks, the tai chi chih group reported significantly improved sleep quality and duration compared with those receiving health education. The slow, gentle movements of tai chi chih make it an attractive exercise option, say the authors.
Sleep - 2008;31 (Irwin M, et al)
