Tai chi may curb Parkinson’s disease

In late 2023, a study entitled “Effect of long-term Tai Chi training on Parkinson’s disease” came out in the Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery and Psychiatry that showed that tai chi may curb the symptoms and complications of Parkinson’s disease for several years.

Parkinson’s is the fastest growing neurological condition in the world. If you have Parkinson’s, or know someone with it, you know that it can be debilitating, and that as of now, there’s still no cure for this disease. Rather, it progresses over time.

The good news is that the practice of tai chi can slow down the progression of symptoms in people with Parkinson’s disease. It’s long been known that practicing tai chi can help Parkinson’s patients in the short term. The study that came out followed patients for three and a half years: one group practiced tai chi twice a week, and the other didn’t practice tai chi at all.

The group that practiced tai chi had less severe symptoms, and symptoms didn't progress especially quickly. The folks in the group without tai chi needed more medication, and experienced more sleep disruption and cognitive disruption than those who were practicing tai chi.

Here is a link to an article summarizing the study and here is a link to the journal article itself, if you are inclined to read a scientific report.