Another Positive Result for Tai Chi

Fibromyalgia is a chronic condition characterized by widespread pain in the muscles, ligaments and tendons, as well as fatigue and multiple tender points in the body, especially round the neck and shoulders.  It occurs chiefly in women – about 5 million women in the USA, actually.  Fibromyalgia is extremely difficult to treat adequately, so it’s not surprising that a number of alternative medicine approaches have been tried, and some have shown effectiveness – yoga, acupuncture, chiropraxis, and massage.  Previous research has suggested that tai chi has benefits in fibromyalgia, and this has now received support from a single-blind, randomized trial reported in the New England Journal of Medicine.      

The study was conducted at Tufts University, Boston. Sixty-six patients with fibromyalgia were randomly assigned to have tai chi sessions or control sessions involving wellness education and stretching exercises.  Both sets of 1-hour sessions were given twice a week for 12 weeks.  The patients’ average age was 50, and 88% were female; their average duration of fibromyalgia was 11 years.     

After 12 weeks, the tai chi group showed a significant improvement in symptoms recorded by the Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnaire, compared to the controls.  There were significantly greater improvements in the components sleep quality, depression, and quality-of-life scores.  No side effects were recorded.

These results warrant a longer-term study in a greater number of patients, according to the researchers.  The findings are certainly as good as those obtained in recent drug trials, and participation in tai chi may have additional social benefits.  I would recommend patients who can afford it consider trying tai chi, without waiting for confirmatory studies.