Deans' stroke musings: Effect of tai chi on physical function, fall rates and quality of life among older stroke survivors

Changing stroke rehab and research worldwide now.Time is Brain! trillions and trillions of neurons that DIE each day because there are NO effective hyperacute therapies besides tPA(only 12% effective). I have 523 posts on hyperacute therapy, enough for researchers to spend decades proving them out. These are my personal ideas and blog on stroke rehabilitation and stroke research. Do not attempt any of these without checking with your medical provider. Unless you join me in agitating, when you need these therapies they won't be there.

What this blog is for:

My blog is not to help survivors recover, it is to have the 10 million yearly stroke survivors light fires underneath their doctors, stroke hospitals and stroke researchers to get stroke solved. 100% recovery. The stroke medical world is completely failing at that goal, they don't even have it as a goal. Shortly after getting out of the hospital and getting NO information on the process or protocols of stroke rehabilitation and recovery I started searching on the internet and found that no other survivor received useful information. This is an attempt to cover all stroke rehabilitation information that should be readily available to survivors so they can talk with informed knowledge to their medical staff. It lays out what needs to be done to get stroke survivors closer to 100% recovery. It's quite disgusting that this information is not available from every stroke association and doctors group.

Thursday, September 11, 2014

Effect of tai chi on physical function, fall rates and quality of life among older stroke survivors

How many decades is it going to take to get Tai Chi as a stroke protocol in all stroke hospitals? Unless YOU push this it will be at least 50 years.
http://search.naric.com/research/rehab/redesign_record.cfm?search=2&type=all&criteria=J68903&phrase=no&rec=125093
NARIC Accession Number: J68903. What's this?
ISSN: 0003-9993.
Author(s): Taylor-Piliae, Ruth E.; Hoke, Tiffany M.; Hepworth, Joseph T.; Latt, L. Daniel; Najaafi, Bijan; Coull, Bruce M..
Publication Year: 2014.
Number of Pages: 9.
Abstract: Study examined the effect of a 12-week Tai Chi (TC) intervention on physical function and quality of life. A total of 145 community-dwelling survivors of stroke, aged 50 years or older, were randomly assigned to: (1) Yang style 24-posture short-form TC; (2) Silver Sneakers (SS), a program of strength and range of movement exercises for older adults; or (3) usual care (UC) for 12 weeks. The TC and SS groups attended a 1-hour class 3 times per week, whereas the UC group had weekly phone calls. Physical function was evaluated using the Short Physical Performance Battery, fall rates, and the 2-minute step test. Quality of life was assessed using the Medical Outcomes Study 36-Item Short-Form Health Survey, Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale, and Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index. During the intervention, TC participants had two-thirds fewer falls (5 falls) than the SS (14 falls) and UC (15 falls) groups. There was a significant group-by-time interaction for the 2-minute step test. Post hoc tests indicated that the TC and SS groups had significantly better aerobic endurance over time, though not in the UC group. Intervention adherence rates were 85 percent. TC and SS led to improved aerobic endurance, and both are suitable community-based programs that may aid in stroke recovery and community reintegration. Results suggest that a 12-week TC intervention was more effective in reducing fall rates than SS or UC interventions. Future studies examining the effectiveness of TC as a fall prevention strategy for community-dwelling survivors of stroke are recommended.