%0 Journal Article
%T The effects of Tai Chi training on physical fitness, perceived health, and blood pressure in elderly Vietnamese
%A Nguyen MH
%A Kruse A
%J Open Access Journal of Sports Medicine
%D 2012
%I Dove Medical Press
%R http://dx.doi.org/10.2147/OAJSM.S27329
%X ts of Tai Chi training on physical fitness, perceived health, and blood pressure in elderly Vietnamese Original Research (3251) Total Article Views Authors: Nguyen MH, Kruse A Published Date March 2012 Volume 2012:3 Pages 7 - 16 DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.2147/OAJSM.S27329 Received: 14 October 2011 Accepted: 08 November 2011 Published: 06 March 2012 Manh Hung Nguyen, Andreas Kruse Institute of Gerontology, Heidelberg University, Heidelberg, Germany Objective: Evaluating the effects of Tai Chi exercise on physical fitness, blood pressure, and perceived health in community-dwelling elderly. Design: A randomized controlled trial. Setting: Community-dwelling elderly in Vinh city, Vietnam. Participants: Ninety-six community-dwelling participants aged 60 to 79 years (68.9 ¡À 5.1 years) were recruited. Intervention: Subjects were divided randomly into two groups: Tai Chi and Control groups. Participants in the Tai Chi group (aged 69.02 ¡À 5.16 years) attended a 60-minute Tai Chi practice session twice a week for 6 months. The session consisted of a 15-minute warm-up and a 15-minute cool-down period. The Control group (aged 68.72 ¡À 4.94 years) maintained routine daily activities. Outcome measures: The Senior Fitness Test and Short-Form 36  (SF-36 ) are primary outcome measures. Results: After 24 weeks of the Tai Chi training program, the intervention group showed significant decrease in systole of 12 mmHg and heart rate 6.46 bpm. Body mass index and waist¨Chip ratio were also reduced by 1.23 and 0.04, respectively. The Senior Fitness Test and SF-36 showed significant improvement. Conclusion: In this randomized controlled trial study, Tai Chi is beneficial to improve systole blood pressure, heart rate, body mass index, waist¨Chip ratio, perceived health, and physical fitness. Assessment of the effects of Tai Chi may be focused more on chronic disease with a long-term training program in the future.
%K physical fitness
%K health
%K Tai Chi
%U https://www.dovepress.com/the-effects-of-tai-chi-training-on-physical-fitness-perceived-health-a-peer-reviewed-article-OAJSM