The Effect of Tai Chi on Cardiorespiratory Function in Patients With Coronary Artery Bypass Surgery.Lan C, Chen S-Y, Loi J-S, Wong M-K (Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation physical medicine and rehabilitation or physiatry or physical therapy or rehabilitation medicine Medical specialty treating chronic disabilities through physical means to help patients return to a comfortable, productive life despite a medical , National Taiwan University Hospital National Taiwan University Hospital (NTUH, 國立台灣大學醫學院附設醫院) started operations under Japanese rule in Dadaocheng on June 18, 1895, and moved to its present location in 1898. ; Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan), Med Sci Sports Exerc. 1999;31:634-638. This study investigated the training effect of tai chi chuan Tai Chi Chuan Chinese taijiquan or t'ai-chi-ch'üan Ancient Chinese form of exercise or of attack and defense. As exercise, it is designed to provide relaxation in the process of body conditioning, which it accomplishes partly by harmonizing the (TCC), a Chinese conditioning exercise, in patients after coronary artery bypass surgery Coronary artery bypass surgery, also coronary artery bypass graft surgery, and colloquially heart bypass or bypass surgery is a surgical procedure performed to relieve angina and reduce the risk of death from coronary artery disease. (CABS) and the potential use of TCC to maintain exercise training effects. Twenty male patients with a mean age of 57 [+ or -] 7 years participated in this study. All subjects had undergone CABS and had completed a phase II cardiac rehabilitation program. The subjects were nonrandomly assigned to either a TCC group or an unsupervised control group. The TCC group (n=9) performed classical Yang TCC (108 postures) each morning for 1 year as a maintenance exercise. Twenty minutes of gentle calisthenics calisthenics: see aerobics. calisthenics Systematic rhythmic bodily exercises (e.g., jumping jacks, push-ups), usually performed without apparatus. as warm-up exercises preceded 24 minutes of TCC and 10 minutes of cool-down exercises. The control group (n=11) performed walking exercise at the intensity of phase II cardiac rehabilitation 3 times weekly for 50 minutes, including 10 minutes of warm-up and 10 minutes of cool-down exercises. Ail subjects performed 2 symptom-limited graded exercise tests using a Jaeger ergometer ergometer /er·gom·e·ter/ (er-gom´e-ter) a dynamometer. bicycle ergometer an apparatus for measuring the muscular, metabolic, and respiratory effects of exercise. (after phase II cardiac rehabilitation and 1 year after TCC training). Data were analyzed using a 2-factor ANOVA anova see analysis of variance. ANOVA Analysis of variance, see there for repeated measures on the same subject, unpaired t tests for the differences among baseline physiological data, and paired t tests to compare variables within each exercise group. After 1 year of training, the TCC group showed significant improvement in [VO.sub.2]peak (10.3%) and an increased work rate (11.9%), whereas the control group showed slight decreases in both measures. The authors concluded that TCC was an acceptable alternative for patients after CABS because favorable improvements were noted in cardiorespiratory function. Elaine Filusch Betts, PhD, PT Central Michigan University Mt Pleasant, Mich |
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