Tai Chi Chuan Combined With Walking on Physical and Mental Parameters of Older Adults

Summary

Background: Tai Chi Chuan, a Chinese martial art style, is a mind-body modality that has shown positive impacts on health markers in various populations, particularly older adults. This study aims to investigate the effects of a 12-week program of Tai Chi Chuan exercises based on the Yang 16-movement form and walking on older adults' physical and mental markers.

Methods: This study is a randomized, single-blinded, two-arm, parallel, superiority trial. Forty older adults between 60 and 75 years old who are not engaged in any systematic strength and aerobic training program will be recruited. Candidates with language and cognitive problems, a history of cardiovascular diseases (except controlled hypertension), osteoarticular limitations and fractures, severe injuries, and prosthetic placement in the last six months will be excluded. Participants will be randomly allocated on a 1:1 ratio to a 12-week intervention with Tai Chi Chuan and walking two times per week, or an active-control group with walking two times per week. Physical measures will be muscle strength (i.e., knee extensors maximum strength and lower limbs functional performance -primary outcomes-, dynamic knee extensors endurance, handgrip strength, back-leg-chest strength), functional capacity, static balance, muscle thickness and muscle quality of quadriceps. Mental measures will be quality of life, sleep quality, cognitive function, and depressive and anxiety symptoms. Outcomes will be measured before and after 12 weeks of intervention. The analysis plan will use an intention-to-treat approach and protocol criteria.

Discussion: The conceptual hypothesis is that the intervention training program with Tai Chi Chuan and walking will lead to greater improvements in both physical and mental parameters due to its multi-component character compared to the walking active-control group.

Conditions

• Aging

Interventions

OTHER

Tai Chi Chuan Plus Walking

Participants perform a 12-week program with two weekly sessions on non-consecutive days. The sessions last 75 min (5 min of warm-up, 45 min of Tai Chi Chuan (TCC), 20 min of walking, and 5 min of cool-down). The intervention occurs at the School of Physical Education, Federal University of Pelotas. The TCC section occurs in a mirrored dance studio, while walking occurs on an indoor sports court. The TCC sections are based on the simplified Yang 16-movement form. Over the 12 weeks, participants learn the fundamentals and basic principles of TCC and practice the 16 movements. In the walking sections, the intensity of the effort and recovery periods are controlled through the Rate of Perceived Exertion (RPE) using the Borg scale 6-20. Effort and recovery periods are on 13 and 11 RPE, respectively. The effort and recovery lengths vary over the weeks. The training sessions are collective, with 5 to 20 participants, supervised by two experienced instructors, a TCC and a fitness instructor.

OTHER

Walking

Participants perform a 12-week training program with two weekly exercise sessions on non-consecutive days. The sessions last 30 minutes (5 minutes of warm-up, 20 minutes of walking, and 5 minutes of cool-down) throughout the intervention period. The intervention occurs in an indoor sports court at the School of Physical Education, Federal University of Pelotas. In the walking sections, the intensity of the effort and recovery periods are controlled through the Rate of Perceived Exertion (RPE) using the Borg scale 6-20. Effort and recovery periods are on 13 and 11 RPE, respectively. The effort and recovery lengths vary over the weeks. The training sessions are collective, with 5 to 20 participants, supervised by two experienced instructors, a TCC and a fitness instructor.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Federal University of Pelotas

  lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

• Cristine L Alberton, PhD · Federal University of Pelotas

Study Design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

TREATMENT

Masking

SINGLE

Model

PARALLEL

Eligibility

Min Age

60 Years

Max Age

75 Years

Sex

ALL

Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2024-05-20

Primary Completion

2024-12-31

Completion

2025-07-31

Countries

• Brazil

Study Locations