Tai Chi can reduce falls in the elderly

According to researchers in South Korea, a structured Tai Chi program improved the balance and physical strength in a group of older people with an average age of 78.

More importantly, the team at Chung Nam National University say the Tai Chi exercise program also reduced their risks of falling.

Tai Chi is an ancient Chinese martial art form which consists of a series of slow, gentle, continuous movements.

In the study twenty-nine elderly people took part in a 12-week course three times a week, while 30 others were in a non-exercise control group, and it was found that the physical fitness of the Tai Chi group showed significant improvement, with stronger knee and ankle muscles, improved mobility and flexibility and better balance.

Rhayun Song, the study's co-author, says that figures published in the United States estimate that 30 per cent of people over 65 living in the community fall each year and this figure rises to 50 percent for people in long-term care facilities, such as residential homes.

One in 10 falls results in a fracture.

The study is published in the current edition of the Journal of Advanced Nursing.