Effects of a 12-week online Tai Chi intervention on gait and postural stability in individuals with Parkinson’s disease

Abstract

Parkinson's disease (PD) affects gait and postural stability. Tai Chi (TC) is recommended for PD for management of the condition, however biomechanical understanding to its effects on gait and postural stability is limited. This study aimed to examine the effects of an online 12-week biomechanical-based TC intervention on gait and posture in people with PD. Fifteen individuals in early-stage PD were recruited (Hoehn & Yahr stages 1-2). The TC intervention program was 60 ​min session, three times weekly for 12 weeks. The pre- and post-intervention test in obstacle crossing, timed-up-and-go (TUG) test, and single leg standing (SLS) with eyes open (EO) and closed (EC) were conducted. Gait speed, crossing stride length, clearance height of the heel and toe, anterior-posterior (AP) and medial-lateral (ML) displacement and velocity of the center of mass (COM) and separation of the COM-center of pressure (COP) were analyzed. The participants significantly improved their pre-vs. post-TC intervention performance on TUG test (p ​= ​0.002). During obstacle crossing, the participants significantly increased crossing stride length of the trailing foot, increased AP COM displacement and decreased ML COM-COP separation (p ​< ​0.05); the maximal dorsiflexion angle of the leading limb significantly increased and maximal plantarflexion angle of the trailing limb significantly decreased (p ​< ​0.05). A 12-week biomechanical-based online TC training was effective towards improvement of gait and postural stability among people in the early-stage of PD. The TC program and online training could be applied for management of PD.

Keywords

Center of mass / Tai Chi / Center of pressure / Kinematics / Obstacle crossing / Joint angles

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The authors wish to sincerely thank the participants and their care partners for their involvement and time in this study, as well to the support group leaders of Parkinson Canada who helped with the recruitment.