Over the past decade, evidence from epidemiological studies and clinical trials has demonstrated a positive association between physical fitness and psychological health. Numerous studies have shown that physical activity and exercise as well as mind-body practice reduce morbidity and mortality for coronary heart disease, hypertension, obesity, diabetes and osteoporosis, and improve the psychological status of the general population. Their previous investigations have shown that Tai Chi has potential benefits in treating a variety of chronic conditions. Significant improvement has been reported in balance, strength, flexibility, cardiovascular and respiratory function, as well as pain reduction and improved quality of life.

Epidemiological studies have demonstrated that physically active individuals have a lower risk of Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA) compared with the less physically active individuals.5 Furthermore, interest in exercise training has been rapidly increasing in patients with OSA. According to the summary results of a meta-analysis6 exploring this topic, exercise training in patients with OSA significantly reduces the apnea–hypopnea index (AHI) and provides a significant improvement in sleep quality and daytime sleepiness independent of body mass index (BMI). This suggests the possible role of exercise in the treatment of sleep apnea. In previous studies, long-term TC exercises were shown to positively affect physical function, exercise capacity, and psychological status, as well as support, in the treatment of chronic diseases.20 However, there appear to have been very few studies that have explored the effects of tai chi and qigong (TCQ) training in patients with OSA.

Tai chi is a form of mind–body exercise that originated from China. It combines Chinese martial arts and meditative movements that promote balance and healing of the mind and body, involving a series of slowly performed, dance-like postures that flow into one another. As it comprises mental concentration, physical balance, muscle relaxation, and relaxed breathing, tai chi shows great potential for becoming widely integrated into the prevention and rehabilitation of a number of medical and psychological conditions.  

Tai chi is recommended for musculoskeletal conditions. Systematic reviews have identified psychological therapies, multidisciplinary therapies, and exercise therapy as being effective treatments for reducing disability. Tai chi has been endorsed as a safe and beneficial form of exercise therapy for people with musculoskeletal pain by several advocate groups, such as the Arthritis Foundation.

 This study showed that Tai Chi exercises can improve the functional outcomes and the quality of life for patients with total knee replacement. Tai Chi exercises had no negative side effects on patients with TKA. The results demonstrated Tai Chi  to be a new form of postoperative rehabilitation exercises for patients with TKA. 

Aging is often associated with multiple functional impairments that are characteristic of frailty and may diminish the ability to adapt to common stressors in daily life.  This study compared 12-weeks of Tai Chi training to an education attention-control intervention with cross-over to Tai Chi, for their effects on physical function and dual task walking in adults over the age of 70 and living within supportive housing facilities. The results showed that twelve weeks of Tai Chi training improved physical function, balance and walking in very old adults living within supportive housing communities. Training sessions were well-attended and did not lead to adverse events. Tai Chi training may therefore be a safe, inexpensive and feasible therapeutic option to help maintain functional independence within vulnerable individuals of advanced age. 

Tai Chi is thought to be psychologically as well as physically beneficial for people with arthritis.  

Improvement of the quality of life in perimenopausal women has recently become an important global health issue. Extensive research reports provide evidence of Tai Chi for the quality of life, but no systematic review has individually investigated Tai Chi as a main intervention on the quality of life in perimenopausal women.  

Falls are the main cause of accidental death in elderly people, which is associated with their balance control ability and flexibility. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of TCC on the balance control and flexibility of the older adults.  

The prevalence of OA in elders with cognitive impairment is comparable to that in elders without cognitive impairment. The knee is particularly affected because it is a major weight-bearing joint. Pharmacological interventions for OA knee pain have shown limited efficacy, and in elders they can produce side effects such as impaired concentration, agitation, increased risk of hypertension and hip fracture, and decreased renal function. Because of the pain, elders with knee OA tend to avoid activity, including land-based exercise such as walking and running. This was the first study to explore TC's effects on pain in elders with cognitive impairment and knee OA. Scores on the VDS and observed pain behaviors were significantly better with the TC group than the control group at post-test. Further, the beneficial effects of TC were not associated with cognitive ability. These group comparisons suggest that 20 weeks of TC practice led to significant reductions in OA knee pain in cognitively impaired elders.

To manage the adverse effects of NPC and the side effects of conventional cancer treatment, many survivors turn to complementary and alternative medicines such as Tai Chi (TC) and/or Qigong. This study aimed to (1) investigate the effects of TC Qigong training on the temporomandibular joint (TMJ), cervical and shoulder joint mobility and sleep problems of NPC survivors and (2) explore the relationship between upper body joint mobility and sleep problems if any significant changes in these outcomes were demonstrated after the TC Qigong training. Participants in the TC Qigong training showed improvement in bilateral cervical side flexion. Trismus is a common problem in NPC survivors and is associated with reduced nutrition, speaking difficulty and compromised oral hygiene. This study  showed that TC Qigong training was able to attenuate the deterioration in mouth opening capacity among NPC survivors. Sleep disturbance started to decrease after 6 months of the TC Qigong training and continued to decrease during the no-training follow-up period 

CRF is commonly found in patients with cancer. Even in early-stage non–small cell lung cancer survivors, the prevalence of CRF is 57%. Our randomized controlled intervention trial found that the Tai Chi group had a lower MFSI-SF total score compared with the control group at six- and 12-week follow-up. The results showed Tai Chi was an effective intervention for managing CRF in patients with lung cancer undergoing chemotherapy. 

One of the characters of chronic illness is life-long condition with the deterioration in health related quality of life. Tai Chi has become a popular mind-body exercise and self-management strategy for patients with chronic conditions regarding its various physical and psychological effects.  

Their findings support those of prior studies of tai chi that also reported improvements in quality of life, mood (decrease in anxiety and enhancement in vigor), and exercise self-efficacy in other patient populations, including those with cardiovascular disease and cardiovascular risk factors. Because chronic systolic HF is a progressive and debilitating condition, the importance of beneficially affecting patient-perceived quality of life is increasingly appreciated. We observed large, clinically significant changes in quality of life in this study, similar to or even greater than what has been seen with cardiac resynchronization therapy. In addition, given the relationship between depression and HF, improvement in mood in this population is also highly relevant.

Although many studies have confirmed the effects of tai chi exercise on balance control for the elderly, little effort has been devoted to determining the underlying mechanism. Some studies have shown that diminished proprioception is a major contributing factor to falls in the elderly. It is very important for old people to retain this ability. All forms of tai chi emphasize conscious awareness of body position and movement, which seem to contain the characteristics of proprioceptive exercise. This study was designed to investigate the proprioception of ankle and knee joints in elderly long term tai chi practitioners, long term swimmers/runners, and sedentary controls. 

Patients with Parkinson's disease who had experienced falls were placed in a 12 week Tai Chi program. The study group showed improvement in balance at the end of the study and fewer falls during the 6-month follow-up than the control group. 

Knee osteoarthritis (OA) is an increasing problem in the elderly population, resulting in pain, functional limitations, disability, reduced quality of life, and substantial direct and hidden healthcare costs. Proprioception - or the perception of limb position in space - is critical to the preservation of joint stability. Impaired proprioception may play a role in the progression of knee OA by causing abnormal stresses on the knee joint. Tai Chi, with an emphasis on balance, muscle strengthening and the integration of the mind and body, may be an ideal proprioceptive exercise for older individuals with knee OA. Their findings suggest that Tai Chi may be beneficial for knee proprioception in patients with severe knee OA at a 30 degree test angle immediately following 12 weeks of practice.

To date, there have been no comprehensive systematic reviews examining the use of tai chi specifically in patients with cardiovascular conditions, and very little is known about what is published in the Chinese language. Their objective was to conduct a systematic review of the Chinese and English language literature on tai chi exercise as an intervention for patients with cardiovascular disease and cardiovascular risk factors, and to offer recommendations for future research.

The chronic lumbar muscle strain, a dynamo-static damage, is induced by the lumbar muscle fatigue. Its etiology can be traced to the following factors, for example, poor postures, lumbar and back muscle and fascia strain because of engaging in bending and load-bearing labor for a long time, failure to treat timely, correctly and thoroughly after acute injury, congenital malformation and invasion of wind-cold damp pathogen.  For this reason, it intends to treat the patients in the observation group by the auricular plaster therapy in addition to Tai Chi exercise in this study. It is found that the combination therapy shows an obvious curative effect and it is reported as follows.

In the last decade, exercise interventions, as assisting pharmacological treatments of Parkinson's Disease (PD), showed desirable effects on improving balance, gait, and overall functional status of individuals with mild to moderate PD through experience-dependent neuroplasticity. A large number of basic researches have also reported that exercises promoted cell proliferation and neuronal differentiation in animal models of PD. Tai Chi, as a mind-body exercise consisting of proper breathing and slow controlled movements, has shown beneficial effects on improving muscle strength, balance, and motor function in older adults. It has been listed by the National Parkinson Foundation of the United States as one of the exercises to be beneficial for related clinical symptoms of PD. However, the studies of Tai Chi for PD reported conflicting results. Reported significant improvements in balance, functional capacity, and falls after Tai Chi exercise. In contrast, reported that Tai Chi was ineffective on either improving gait dysfunction or reducing Parkinson disability.  Therefore, the aim of this systematic review is to summarize and evaluate the evidence on the effectiveness of Tai Chi for PD. And the meta-analyses of Tai Chi for PD were conducted especially on motor function, balance, gait, and quality of life in individuals with PD. Therefore, the aim of this systematic review is to summarize and evaluate the evidence on the effectiveness of Tai Chi for PD. And the meta-analyses of Tai Chi for PD were conducted especially on motor function, balance, gait, and quality of life in individuals with PD.