Good Benefits Of Tai Chi On Preventing Falls In The Elderly Essay Example

In a recent article from the Economic Times of India, a study was published from Taipei, Taiwan that claims that the practice of tai chi can help reduce the risk of falling in older adults. One of the co-authors of the study was quoted in the article. She suggested that every older person should learn tai chi and practice it at home daily. It can be assumed that her recommendation is based on the results of the study. In the referenced scientific study, the authors selected three hundred and sixty-eight subjects that have a history of medical treatment for a fall. These patients were divided into two groups, one that studied tai chi daily for six months, while the second group had individual physical therapy sessions daily which focused on lower extremity training and strengthening.
After six months, the two groups were compared, and the tai chi group had fewer falls compared the physical therapy group. The authors followed up a year after training and found that the tai chi group were still less likely to fall.
There is not any mention in the article of the mechanism in tai chi that is effective at preventing falls when compared to physical therapy. However, it might be suggested that tai chi improves a person’s balance, which could help to avoid a fall. Based on the results of the study, it seems like balance plays a larger role in strength in preventing falls in the elderly. The article never mentions the mechanism of how tai chi decreases falls, but it is plausible based on human physiology and the symptoms of aging.
When comparing the claims of this article against a peer-reviewed journal, they both have similar results. The peer-reviewed article was a study in 2013 that compared a group of patients that were referred a physician for a fall, have a high risk for a repeat fall, and have the mental capacity to undergo therapy. The patients were divided into a conventional physical therapy and a tai chi group. Each group had fifteen hours of treatment over fifteen weeks. As a result of the study, there was a thirty percent decrease in the risk of falling in the tai chi group when compared to a conventional study. The article suggests that in tai chi, the participant learns to moves that use either leg as a stabilizer, transition from one to two-legged stances, and incorporate upper and lower body movements.
When comparing the article in the Economic Times and the peer-reviewed article, both resources claim that tai chi helps prevent repeat falls in the elderly. Neither resource has any logical fallacies in its argument. However, when reading the Times article, there is not much information about how tai chi prevents falls, why tai chi is beneficial, or if the study from Taipei had any flaws. This study potentially has flaws or biases that could discredit the claim of the use of tai chi in preventing falls, however, no one will know about these flaws since there is a lack information presented in the article.
It is hard for a reader while reading this article to understand the benefits of tai chi or if the claims made by these authors are valid. Besides the basic parameters of the study, little to no information is given to the physiology behind the claims or if there was any bias in the study that could result in the authors making an incorrect claim on the benefits of tai chi. It is important for the authors of behind these news articles that cite peer-reviewed studies to include enough information about the physiology behind these claims, and to thoroughly analyze the study to determine if there are any instances of bias or poor design that can result in the proliferation of bad science.