Forty older adults in a Jinan nursing home were assigned to 12 weeks of Eight Methods and Five Steps Tai Chi or health education, 20 per group. The 60-minute, three-times-weekly program improved one-leg stance, TUG, Berg Balance Scale and center-of-pressure sway.
Key findings
- Open-eye stance time increased 94%, TUG decreased 17.8%, Berg scores rose 7% and sway area fell 57.5%, with p
Why this matters globally
Tai Chi is low-equipment and culturally familiar, making it a potentially scalable fall-prevention activity if safety and long-term effects are confirmed.
Thai researcher contribution
Three Bangkokthonburi University authors contributed to program design and evaluation in Chinese older adults.
Limitations to consider
The 40-person single-site sample lacks detail on allocation concealment and blinding. Outcomes were balance proxies rather than actual falls, with no post-program follow-up.