A new study suggests that Chinese martial art taijiquan offers
benefits beyond improving fitness and balance: It may help prevent
shingles, a painful skin condition.
The study is published in the Journal of the American
Geriatrics Society quoted by the media Monday.?
Taijiquan, becoming increasingly popular in the West, is well
known as a good low-impact exercise for older people, but
researchers at the National Institute on Aging (NIA) find that it
can also affect the immune system.
Though it remains unclear how it affects the immune system,
health experts are encouraged by the positive results.
"One in five people who have had chickenpox will get shingles
later in life, usually after age 50, and the risk increases as
people get older," said NIA Director Richard J. Hodes, M.D. "More
research is needed, but this study suggests that the taijiquan
intervention tested, in combination with immunization, may enhance
protection of older adults from this painful condition."
One hundred and twelve healthy adults took part in the study
between the ages of 59 and 86. All participants had previously had
chickenpox.
For three months, half of the group took part in taijiquan
classes, and the other half attended health education classes. Six
months following the study, the taijiquan group showed nearly twice
the immunity level to shingles than did the health education
group.
In addition, this group reported significant improvements in
physical functioning, bodily pain, vitality and mental health. Both
groups showed significant declines in the severity of depressive
symptoms.
"These are exciting findings, because the positive results of
this study also have implications for other infectious diseases,
like influenza and pneumonia," said the director of the UCLA
Cousins Center for Psychoneuroimmunology.
(Xinhua News Agency April 9, 2007)
