Journal
ARCHIVES OF GERONTOLOGY AND GERIATRICS
Volume 53, Issue 2, Pages E133-E137Publisher
ELSEVIER IRELAND LTD
DOI: 10.1016/j.archger.2010.07.009
Keywords
Tai Chi Chuan (TCC); Swimming; Balance; Eye-hand coordination of elderly
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Funding
- National Science Council in Taiwan R.O.C. [NSC 93-2314-B-182A-044]
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It remains unclear whether Tai Chi Chuan (TCC) instead of swimming yields a training-specific effect on dynamic balance. The objective of the present study is to test if the practice of TCC provides a distinctive benefit of balance in the elderly. The participants in TCC (n = 32) and swimming groups (n = 20) practiced regular swimming and TCC respectively for at least 3 years before the recruitment. Thirty-four healthy and active elderly volunteers were also recruited as the control group. To evaluate balance, we used SMART Balance Master that yields balance parameters including maximal stability, center-of-pressure velocity, and percentage ankle strategy obtained under six different balance conditions. We evaluated eye-hand coordination by measuring the movement time required to accurately point from one target to the next. In the most challenging balance conditions, the TCC group performed significantly better than the swimming and control groups. In eye-hand coordination tasks, both the TCC and swimming groups yielded significantly shorter movement time compared with the control group; however, no significant difference was observed between them. We concluded that both TCC and swimming improve eye-hand coordination in the elderly. However, TCC yields a better training effect on dynamic balance. (C) 2010 Published by Elsevier Ireland Ltd.
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