Tai Chi Exercise on Balance and Awereeness

Baskent University42 enrolled

Overview

The aim of this study is to determine the effect of Tai chi exercises on balance and body awareness in younger adults. Forty-two healthy subjects between the ages of 18-25 who do not have any restriction to exercise participate in our study. After recording the sociodemographic characteristics of the subjects, static and dynamic balance and body awareness will be evaluated. Kinesthetic Ability Trainer will be used to assess static and dynamic balance and body awareness will be evulated with Body Awareness Questionnaire. All assessments will be done before and 12 weeks after the tai chi exercise. Tai-chi training will be performed as a group exercise. Duration for tai chi exercise will be 60 minutes for 2 days per week totally 12 weeks.

Tai-chi training was performed as a group exercise. Duration for tai chi exercise was 60 minutes for 2 days per week for 12 weeks. Each session includes 10 min warm-up and cool-down and 40 min Tai Chi exercises. During exercises, attention was paid to correct positioning of the upper and lower extremity joints, and mentally concentration was achieved. Slow and controlled movements were carried out by a specialized physiotherapist

Study Type

INTERVENTIONAL

Allocation

Purpose

TREATMENT

Masking

NONE

Enrollment

Conditions

Young Adult

Interventions

Outcomes

Primary Outcomes

Body Awareness Questionnaire

Body awareness will be evaluated with Body Awareness Questionnaire (BAQ). It is a questionnaire composed of 4 subgroups (changes in the body process, sleep-wake cycle, estimation of the onset of the disease, estimation of the body reactions) and a total of 18 expressions to determine the normal or non-normal sensitivity level of the body composition. Subjects assess each item from 1 to 7. Higher scores on the BAQ indicates higher awareness.

Time frame: 12 week

Secondary Outcomes

Balance Test

Kinesthetic Ability Trainer (KAT) 3000 (KAT 3000, Berg, Vista, CA, USA) will be used to assess static and dynamic balance. The KAT 3000 consists of a movable platform supported on a central point by a small pivot. A tilt sensor on the platform is connected to a computer, which registers the deviation of the platform from a reference position 18.2 times each second. The distance from the central point to the reference position is measured at every registration. From the summation of these distances, a score, the balance index (BI), can be calculated (a low BI implies good ability to perform the balance test).