Falls are the leading cause of injuries among older Canadians and the sixth leading cause of death. It is important to understand that falling is not a remote possibility for seniors. It is likely to happen.
In BC among seniors, falls are responsible for, 40% of residential care admissions, 84% of injury-related hospitalizations, 90% of hip fractures. 50% of these never regain pre-fall functioning and 20% die within a year of the fracture.
In the USA falling is a serious risk for older adults. According to the National Council on Aging, falls are the "leading cause of fatal and non-fatal injuries for older Americans."
Tai chi is an ancient Chinese practice. Its exact origins are buried in the mists of time, but it may date back as far as the 12th century
Tai chi improves balance, proprioception (a sense of one's position in space), and flexibility, all while being low impact, it is the perfect candidate for use by older adults.
Participants were aged between 56 and 98. When compared with other activities, such as low-intensity exercise and physical therapy, tai chi fared well.
At short-term follow-up (under 12 months), tai chi reduced the rate of falls by 43 percent compared with other interventions, and by 13 percent in the longer-term (over 12 months).
When they investigated falls that caused an injury, the data were not quite as robust, but they calculated that tai chi reduced risk by 50 percent in the short-term and 28 percent over the long-term. However, tai chi did not seem to make a difference to when an individual was likely to have their first fall that caused an injury.
In BC among seniors, falls are responsible for, 40% of residential care admissions, 84% of injury-related hospitalizations, 90% of hip fractures. 50% of these never regain pre-fall functioning and 20% die within a year of the fracture.
In the USA falling is a serious risk for older adults. According to the National Council on Aging, falls are the "leading cause of fatal and non-fatal injuries for older Americans."
In the elderly population of the United States, 17.6 percent reported between one and five falls in the previous 3 months - 6 percent of which were serious.
One study concluded that the issue appears to be getting worse; self-reported falls among adults aged 65 or older increased from 28.2 percent in 1998 to 36.3 percent in 2010.
The Good news is that falls are the most preventable risk to seniors’ health, well-being, and independence. Earlier studies have shown that light physical activity can reduce the rate - but not necessarily the risk - of falls.
A 2012 Cochrane review concluded, "Group and home-based exercise programs, usually containing some balance and strength training exercises, effectively reduced falls”
So, it was interesting to see a study out of Spain that looked at the impact of Tia Chi training on falls and seniors.
Tai chi improves balance, proprioception (a sense of one's position in space), and flexibility, all while being low impact, it is the perfect candidate for use by older adults.
Researchers from the University of Jaén in Spain set out to analyze previous research investigating tai chi as a way of reducing falls in older adults. The outline the study “was to investigate the most recent randomized controlled trials that analyze the effectiveness of tai chi on improving the falls rate, the rate of injurious falls, and the time to first fall..."
At short-term follow-up (under 12 months), tai chi reduced the rate of falls by 43 percent compared with other interventions, and by 13 percent in the longer-term (over 12 months).
When they investigated falls that caused an injury, the data were not quite as robust, but they calculated that tai chi reduced risk by 50 percent in the short-term and 28 percent over the long-term. However, tai chi did not seem to make a difference to when an individual was likely to have their first fall that caused an injury.
Although the current study did not attempt to explain why tai chi is beneficial, it is likely to be due to a range of factors, which could include improvement in reaction time, a better and more stable gait, improved balance, and better balance recovery.
Because tai chi is low impact, simple, and cost-effective, it is an ideal intervention for use in care settings, in the community, and at home.
However, the researchers are cautious. One of them explains, "Due to the small number of published studies, further research is needed to investigate the effect of tai chi on injurious falls and time to first fall."
