Tai Chi Benefits Patients with Parkinson's

Name: Olivia Current Event Posting: #1

Topic: Health

Title of Article: Tai Chi Benefits Patients with Parkinson's Author: Tara Parker-Pope

Publication Name: New York Times Date of Publication: 02/09/12

Length of Article: 475 words

In a recent study, 195 people who have been diagnosed with Parkinson's in four Oregon cities were recruited to take part in a trial. Parkinson's is a disease that mainly affects people over the age of fifty. Since Parkinson's causes movement and balance problems, patients were divided into groups that did different physical activities two times a week. One group did stretching exercises, another did resistance training, and the other did tai chi. After six months, the patients were evaluated once again, and i was found that the group that did tai chi was in better physical condition than patients in other groups. Tai chi involves the flowing slow movement of the body, as well as meditation.

This study shows that tai chi and physical movement can help people with physcial problems due to Parkinson's. According to scientists, tai chi may be a better "medication" than actual drugs themselves because the drugs can mentally deteriorate patients. The effect that tai chi has on Parkinson's still isn't entirely clear, but it is speculated that trains parts of the brain that control movement and balance.

Personally, I think that this is a very welcomed discovery for people with Parkinson's. It offers them a holistic way to battle their disease. They can leave a more normal life, because they still have the physical ability to do so, which I think is very rewarding to them.