1. Effect of 1-year regular Tai Chi on neuromuscular reaction in elderly women: a randomized controlled study.
- Author
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Sun, Wei, Zhang, Cui, Song, Qipeng, Li, Weiping, Cong, Yan, Chang, Shuwan, Mao, Dewei, and Hong, Youlian
- Subjects
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HAMSTRING muscle physiology , *CALF muscle physiology , *RECTUS femoris muscles , *ANALYSIS of variance , *CLINICAL trials , *ELECTROMYOGRAPHY , *EXERCISE physiology , *LONGITUDINAL method , *NEUROPHYSIOLOGY , *PROBABILITY theory , *REACTION time , *RESEARCH funding , *STATISTICAL sampling , *T-test (Statistics) , *TAI chi , *WOMEN'S health , *STATISTICAL reliability , *STATISTICAL significance , *NEUROMUSCULAR system , *RANDOMIZED controlled trials , *PRE-tests & post-tests , *DATA analysis software , *DESCRIPTIVE statistics , *INTRACLASS correlation , *PHYSIOLOGY - Abstract
This study assessed the effect of 1-year regular Tai Chi (TC) on neuromuscular reaction in elderly women. A total of 41 elderly women (55 years–68 years) completed the study. The TC group (n = 21) performed the 24-form TC, while the control group (C, n = 20) was instructed to read newspapers or watch television when the TC group practised. Electromyogram measurements were conducted before and after intervention. After a year-long intervention, the post-test results of between-group neuromuscular reaction time showed significant differences in the rectus femoris (t = 3.607, p = 0.001), semitendinosus (t = 2.678, p = 0.011), anterior tibialis (t = 3.455, p = 0.001), and gastrocnemius muscles (t = 4.061, p = 0.000). Within-group results showed that the TC group had significantly shorter neuromuscular reaction time compared to its baseline value in the rectus femoris (t = 3.066, p = 0.006), semitendinosus (t = 2.485, p = 0.022), anterior tibialis (t = 2.311, p = 0.032), and gastrocnemius muscles (t = 2.462, p = 0.023). Results suggested that year-long regular TC can improve neuromuscular reaction function in elderly women. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2016
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