Arthritis Archives - Tai Chi For Living

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Tai Chi for Health Institute
https://taichiforhealthinstitute.org

The Tai Chi for Health Institute is the organization for which I am a Master Trainer. Dr. Paul Lam, whose photograph you see, is the Founder and Director of the Tai Chi for Health Institute. The following information is a summary of who we are. Please visit the link above for more detailed information.

What We Do:
Our primary focus is to train safe and effective instructors for the program.

Our Mission:
• To train effective and safe teachers of the Tai Chi for Health programs
• To develop effective programs though research and development
• To make the world aware of tai chi as a modality which promotes health

To make the world aware of tai chi as a modality that promotes health involves:
1) Collaborating with other organizations such as the Arthritis Foundation
2) Serving as a resource for health policymakers, academics, and development practitioners including journalists, teachers, youth and civic leaders
3) Targeting universities, key organizations and work sites for instructor workshops
4) Obtaining accreditation for CEUs for instructors taking the workshops

Providing support to the missions includes:
1) Keeping a data base for all students utilizing the Tai Chi for Health programs
2) Keeping a data base on all research in tai chi for health
3) Creating a speakers bureau and PowerPoint presentations to increase knowledge of Tai Chi for Health programs and their benefits

Programs
Dr. Lam and his team of tai chi and medical specialists have produced an instructional DVD for every one of the Tai Chi for Health Programs. Using them is almost like being in one of Dr. Lam’s classes. Another good way to learn tai chi is to attend one of the classes by his authorized instructors and use the DVD to supplement the lessons.
• If you have a chronic condition such as arthritis or diabetes, see below.
• If your reason for learning tai chi is to strengthen your body and improve your mental balance – see Dr. Lam’s recommendations.

Please find Certified Instructors by clicking this link on TCHI website https://taichiforhealthinstitute.org/instructors/

More detailed answers of what program suits you best?
If you have:
• Arthritis, fibromyalgia, MS or similar condition, asthma/bronchiectasis or if you have had a stroke – Dr. Lam recommends the Tai Chi for Arthritis program. It is supported by Arthritis Foundations worldwide; shown by many medical studies to reduces falls, alleviate pain, improves quality of life better lung capacity.
• Poor balance and want to prevent falls and improve balance and health – Dr. Lam recommends the Tai Chi for Arthritis too since it contains a fall prevention program as does the Centers of Disease Control and Preventions (www.cdc.gov) recommends it.
• A stroke, heart disease, injury, surgical procedure or tiredness and stress – Dr. Lam recommends the Tai Chi for Rehabilitation program because it is very healing and anyone can learn it.
• Diabetes, heart-related conditions – Dr. Lam recommends the Tai Chi for Diabetes program. It is supported by Diabetes Australia.
• Osteoporosis – Dr. Lam recommends the Tai Chi for Osteoporosis program. It is supported by Osteoporosis Australia
• Back pain, or a weakening condition like chronic fatigue syndrome or fibromyalgia – Dr. Lam recommends the Tai Chi for Rehabilitation program
• To de-stress or relieve depression – Dr. Lam recommends the Tai Chi at Work or Tai Chi for Rehabilition

What is a Board Certified Instructor?
Board certified instructors have attended training workshop(s), completed prior preparation and fulfilled all requirements to be a safe and effective instructors of the respective program. They are registered with the Tai Chi for Health Institute and they are required to have first aid or CPR or equivalent qualifications and must regularly update their skills.

What is a Senior Trainer?
A Senior Trainer (ST) is an individual who is trained and authorized by Dr. Lam Tai Chi for Health Institute to conduct regional instructor practice sessions, assist and work with Master Trainers (MTs) in all matters relating to Tai Chi for Health programs, maintain communications with a group of instructors and continues to upgrade the skills of those instructors.

What is a Master Trainer?
A Master Trainer (MT) is a individual who is trained and authorized by Dr. Lam Tai Chi for Health Institute to train and certify instructors.

The following is an an interesting study done by the Arthritis Foundation. I thought to include it in this blog so as to speak to those who suffer with different types of arthritis and how practicing tai chi can be helpful.

Tai Chi Relieves Arthritis Pain, Improves Reach, Balance, Well-Being, Study Suggests

Nov. 8, 2010. — In the largest study to date of the Arthritis Foundation’s Tai Chi program, participants showed improvement in pain, fatigue, stiffness and sense of well-being.
Their ability to reach while maintaining balance also improved, said Leigh Callahan, PhD, the study’s lead author, associate professor in the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine and a member of UNC’s Thurston Arthritis Research Center.

“Our study shows that there are significant benefits of the Tai Chi course for individuals with all types of arthritis, including fibromyalgia, rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis,” Callahan said. “We found this in both rural and urban settings across a southeastern state and a northeastern state.” Callahan will present these results on Nov. 8, at the annual scientific meeting of the American College of Rheumatology in Atlanta.

In the study, 354 participants were recruited from 20 sites in North Carolina and New Jersey. They were randomly assigned to two groups. The intervention group received the 8-week, twice-weekly Tai Chi course immediately while the other group was a delayed control group. All participants received baseline and 8-week follow-up evaluations, after which the control group also received the Tai Chi course. To be eligible for study, participants had to have any type of self-reported, doctor-diagnosed arthritis, be 18 years old or older and able to move independently without assistance. However, they did not have to be able to perform Tai Chi standing. They were eligible for the study if they could perform Tai Chi seated,
Callahan said.

Self-reports of pain, fatigue and stiffness and physical function performance measures were collected at baseline and at the eight-week evaluation. Participants were asked questions about their ability to perform activities of daily living, their overall general health and psychosocial measures such as their perceived helplessness and self-efficacy. The physical performance measures recorded were timed chair stands (which are a measure of lower extremity strength), gait speed (both normal and fast) and two measures of balance: a single leg stance and a reach test.

At the end of eight weeks the individuals who had received the intervention showed moderate improvements in pain, fatigue and stiffness. They also had an increased sense of well being, as
measured by the psychosocial variables, and they had improved reach or balance, Callahan said. Study co-authors, all from UNC, are statistician Jack Shreffler, Ph.D., Betsy Hackney, B.S., Kathryn Martin, Ph.D., and medical student Brian Charnock.

Please leave a comment or write to me at the e-mail below.

Richard Link
Master Trainer Tai Chi for Health Institute
link1945@aol.com
901-581-8456