Tai Chi may help ease arthritis

SYDNEY, June 17 (UPI) -- Researchers in Australia conducted a systematic review of Tai Chi studies and found it produces positive effects in those suffering from arthritis.

Tai Chi is a form of exercise regularly practiced in China for general health purposes but has increasing popularity in North America and Australia. It is usually incorporated into people's daily activities and preformed in a group, but can also be practiced individually.

First author Amanda Hall of The George Institute for International Health at The University of Sydney examined seven randomized controlled trials -- six that studied people with chronic arthritis and one that looked at chronic tension headaches.

The researchers termed the trials small and of low methodologic quality, but they found the outcomes for improvement in level of tension and for satisfaction with general health were statistically significant.

"This research should reassure people with musculoskeletal conditions such as arthritis to seek exercise to relieve the pain," Hall said in a statement. "The fact that Tai Chi is inexpensive, convenient, enjoyable and conveys other psychological and social benefits supports the use this type of intervention for pain conditions."

The findings are published in the Arthritis & Rheumatism.