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Tai Chi Chuan

An Ancient Wisdom on Exercise and Health Promotion

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Abstract

Tai chi chuan (TCC) is a Chinese conditioning exercise and is well known for its slow and graceful movements. Recent investigations have found that TCC is beneficial to cardiorespiratory function, strength, balance, flexibility, microcirculation and psychological profile. The long-term practice of TCC can attenuate the age decline in physical function, and consequently it is a suitable exercise for the middle-aged and elderly individuals. TCC can be prescribed as an alternative exercise programme for selected patients with cardiovascular, orthopaedic, or neurological diseases, and can reduce the risk of falls in elderly individuals. The exercise intensity of TCC depends on training style, posture and duration. Participants can choose to perform a complete set of TCC or selected movements according to their needs.

In conclusion, TCC has potential benefits in health promotion, and is appropriate for implementation in the community.

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank Professor S.H. Tang (School of Physical Education of the National Taiwan Normal University) for his assistance in training TCC practitioners in the past 12 years for our studies.

The authors have no conflicts of interest relevant to the contents of this manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, National Taiwan University Hospital, No. 7 Chung-Shan South Road, Taipei, 10016, Taiwan

    Ching Lan, Jin-Shin Lai & Ssu-Yuan Chen

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  1. Ching Lan
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  2. Jin-Shin Lai
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  3. Ssu-Yuan Chen
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Correspondence to Ching Lan.

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Lan, C., Lai, JS. & Chen, SY. Tai Chi Chuan. Sports Med 32, 217–224 (2002). https://doi.org/10.2165/00007256-200232040-00001

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