9 Reasons Tai Chi Reduces Pain and Promotes Health

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The ancient Chinese dance-like practice of tai chi is a meditative movement form that provides many health benefits, and there is evidence that it helps people living with chronic pain conditions.

“Tai chi should be called "medication in motion.”

Harvard Health Publishing

BENEFITS OF TAI CHI

Bill Douglas, author of the best-selling tai chi book, “The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Tai Chi and Qigong”, developer of the Kansas University “Stress Reduction Program,” and founder of World Tai Chi & Qigong Day is considered a Tai Chi and Qigong expert. In an interview, Bill tells Dr. Andrew Weil—on benefits— “students often comment about feeling a great sense of well-being, a sense of 'being here and now' rather than scattered and anxious. I’ve heard students say after a class that they feel like they just had a day at the spa.” He also tells Dr. Weil, "Many students also talk about relief from chronic pain."

         

Tai Chi:

1.     relieves stress

2.     promotes muscle health

3.     promotes flexibility

4.     gently stretches tender, contracted muscles

5.     promotes strength and improves joint function

6.     circulates lymph fluid important to boosting immune function

7.     improves balance

8.     provides positive feedback to our brain

9.     moves our focus away from pain

A 2016 meta analysis of 18 randomized controlled trials found tai chi is a viable complementary and alternative medicine for chronic pain conditions. And, a recent study (March 21, 2018) suggests tai chi is at least as beneficial for fibromyalgia as aerobic exercise, possibly more. 

TYPES OF TAI CHI

The several styles of tai chi are named after the surname of their founder. The oldest style is Chen. Tai Chi Chen consists of low stances and powerful movements. The Yang family first became involved in the study of Tai Chi Chuan, which is the most common form of tai chi practiced in the west. Other forms include Wu, Hoa, and Sun style, though the Hoa style is seldom practiced today. You may also find combination styles of tai chi, which incorporate movements from more than one approach.  

chi= qi = ki = prana: Traditional Chinese medicine refers to our vital energy force as chi or qi. Japanese call it ki, and it is known as prana in the ayurvedic medical tradition of India.

Each tai chi style has something different to offer based on the teacher’s approach. 

TAI CHI FOR YOU

It's important that we know what type of tai chi is right for us. Our choice should align with our physical abilities and goals and never feel stressful, quite the opposite. 

Each tai chi movement has purpose and a symbolic meaning. For instance, as we sink into our body we are opening our joints and relieving stress while building strength. The slow purposeful and graceful movements of tai chi give us the opportunity to make a mental and spiritual connection with our body and let the healing energy of chi heal our body, mind, and spirit. 

Easy Tai Chi Lesson from Bill Douglas

It’s important to experience movement and meditation for our health and practicing Tai Chi is a great way to do both. It is less likely to trigger a flare and it helps those of us with physical limitations stay as active and healthy as possible. Tai chi is one of my personal tools to combat physical and mental stress.

See what I have to say about tai chi in an interview I did for US News and World Report in "9 Strategies for Coping with Fibromyalgia."

AFTER WORDS

Bill Douglas, wrote the foreword to our book (co-author Jeff Miller, PhD) Broken Body Wounded Spirit: Balancing the See-Saw of Chronic Pain, Winter Devotions and he had this to say  inside the cover of our book Integrative Therapies for Fibromyalgia, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, and Myofascial Pain: The Mind-Body Connection:

“This integrative holistic approach to these conditions is what is needed throughout medicine today. Empowering us to become part of our own health and healing process is such a powerful approach to these conditions or any others. I applaud the authors, and hope they inspire others to follow their lead.

Additional Reading

Can Aerobic Exercise Reduce Fibromyalgia Symptoms?

Pained Ink Slayer Series: Mindfulness and Chronic Pain

In healing,

Celeste Cooper, RN / Author, Freelancer, Advocate

Think adversity?-See opportunity!

http://www.CelesteCooper.com

~ • ~ • ~ • ~ • ~ • ~

Learn more about Celeste’s books here. Subscribe to posts by using the information in the upper right hand corner or use the share buttons to share with others. 

Grooving to the Move: Seven Points of Locomotion. Part II by Celeste Cooper

In part I, here, we talked about the first 3 points to “Grooving to the Move: Seven Points of Locomotion.”

1) First, understand the urge to slip up is not yours alone.
2) Think of exercise as movement therapy.
3) Moving for the benefit of it with the least stress.

Now it’s time to look at number four, exercising when you have chronic pain is the personification of the three rights:

1) Right kind
2) Right amount
3) Right time

 So, what is too much, and what is enough? Stretching and aerobic exercise are a must if your physician has approved it for you and you don’t have a condition that prohibits it, but going too fast or trying to exercise a muscle riddled with myofascial trigger points will only set you back, give you feelings of defeat, and most likely cause you to quit. Key points number five, live by your convictions. Accept what you can, acknowledge difficulties, and create opportunity.

                                                          Tattoo this to your forehead.

What about when we are in a flare? Key point number six, know your body.  What are its experiences from previous flares?  Move when you can to prevent atrophy of your muscles. Don’t overdo, there is plenty of time to get your groove on again, just don’t forget “Everybody is doin' a brand new dance,” there is always somewhere to join in. When movement results in relief of symptoms, trigger points are treated, and we identify aggravating factors, we can sit back and appreciate the good feelings. We are definitely more likely to shake our bootie when we are able.

Number seven, certain times of the day are generally better, such as late morning, and early afternoon (after food has settled, because when we eat, blood is shunted from muscle and other organs to help digestion work properly). Exercise or movement therapy, which ever appeals to your sensibility, causes the brain to release “feel good chemicals” called endorphins, which is great, but in excess, they can interfere with sleep, so avoid routines or the urge to get your groove on right before going to bed.

Finding the right fitness routine for you is important; imagine the oil lubricating stiff muscles allowing them to flow freely as you move, instead of jerking and resisting one another like a sputtering car nearly on empty. Remember, you are not in a marathon, doing more on Monday to make up for a Sunday is a disaster for us. Last but not lease, enjoy what you do, find ways to make it infectious, visualize yourself at the front of the train, encouraging others to grab on. See if you can recruit a friend, you will be doing each other a favor. 

As a quick recap, the seven key ways to move to the groove are:

1) First, understand the urge to slip up is not yours alone.
2) Think of exercise as movement therapy.
3) Moving for benefit with the least stress.
4) Personification of the three rights, right kind, amount and time.
5) Live by your convictions.
6) Know your body.
7) Appeal to your sensibility.

I think I’ll do a short jig. Come on, get up, just a shake or two. Let’s get a groove on, if only for a moment or two. Now LAUGH!

All answers and blogs are based on the author's opinions and writing and are not meant to replace medical advice.  

Celeste Cooper is a retired RN, educator, fibromyalgia patient, and lead author of the Broken Body Wounded Spirit: Balancing the See Saw of Chronic Pain devotional series (coauthor, Jeff Miller PhD), and Integrative Therapies for Fibromyalgia, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and Myofascial Pain: The Mind-Body Connection (coauthor, Jeff Miller PhD) She is a fibromyalgia expert for Dr. Oz, et al., at Sharecare.com, here, and she advocates for all chronic pain patients as a participant in the Pain Action Alliance to Implement a National Strategy, here. You can read more educational information and about her books on her website, http://TheseThree.com

Grooving to the Move: Seven Points of Locomotion. Part I by Celeste Cooper

We all know the urge to slump, metaphorically and physically. Here’s an example. We have good intentions for exercise. We think about the many different types, weight lifting, jogging, kick boxing (oh, sure), walking, water aerobics, Zumba, sports, the tread mill or other contraptions, or integrative eastern movements, such as Yoga, T’ai Chi, and Qi Gong. Sometimes, we actually attend a class, or two, or as in my case, buy the latest DVD.  We do it with good intentions. We play the DVD or get on that treadmill a few times and then……  Hey! Where did my mo-jo go?

Staying tuned into an exercise routine is a universal problem. That’s right, universal, meaning it happens to nearly everyone. Those of us with chronic pain issues are not the only ones to pull away from our well intended desire to “groove to the music.” Following are seven key points to consider.

First, understand the urge to slip up is not yours alone. Exercising with a group or being in an online contest keeps us motivated.  For some of us, joining a club isn’t possible, so how can we motivate ourselves?  Experiment, find something you really like to do, or form a team. Our peers can be very motivating.

Second, try to think of exercise as movement therapy, find ways to incorporate movement into a day. It can be as easy as setting a timer and getting up and doing a few stretches and walking around. Sitting in a recliner? Reach over and touch your toes every few minutes, and roll your head. Getting out of the shower? Use your towel with purpose; put your foot on the commode, cover down works best. ;=}, and stretch your back with purpose as you dry your toes. Dry your backside using tall stretches with your right arm, left arm stretching down, repeat other side. Taking the stairs can be difficult when we have problems with hips and joints, it’s unappealing and it can be a fall risk, but have you thought about rocking several times a day, or sitting on a large Yoga ball and bouncing? How about washing a few windows or reorganizing tools or kitchen cabinets? We all have better days, right? Think about increasing your task load, and then break it down into manageable pieces. Moving can improve our environment and give us a feeling of self accomplishment. 

Third, if what we do makes our pain worse, we are more likely not to do it. We’re smart enough to know that if we don’t move, our muscles will waste, and joint pain and arthritis will get worse. That should be motivating. If you have fibromyalgia, your muscles will set up like concrete restricting joints and locomotion. Hmmm, reminds me of words to an old song “Everybody is doin' a brand new dance, now (Come on baby, do the Loco-motion).”

Research tells us that chronic pain in general, regardless of the initiating event, is due to the presence of myofascial pain syndrome. (Read more here.) Physicians have been mystified as to why some patients with the same condition have chronic pain and others don’t. Few understand what myofascial pain syndrome is or the degree of pain and dysfunction it causes, unless they are a sports medicine doctor, chiropractor, physiatrist, or integrative pain specialist. Exercising muscles with myofascial trigger points (MTrPs) can not only make the primary pain worse, it can create more trigger points in compensating. In this case, treating MTrPs before exercising or moving is necessary.  A muscle that is restored to its normal resting length, then strengthened is a happy muscle, and that’s what we want, right? 

In Part II, here, we finish up with the last four key points:

4) Personification of the three rights, right kind, amount and time.
5) Live by your convictions.
6) Know your body.
7) Appeal to your sensibility.

All answers and blogs are based on the author's opinions and writing and are not meant to replace medical advice.  

Celeste Cooper is a retired RN, educator, fibromyalgia patient, and lead author of the Broken Body Wounded Spirit: Balancing the See Saw of Chronic Pain devotional series (coauthor, Jeff Miller PhD), and Integrative Therapies for Fibromyalgia, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and Myofascial Pain: The Mind-Body Connection (coauthor, Jeff Miller PhD) She is a fibromyalgia expert for Dr. Oz, et al., at Sharecare.com, here, and she advocates for all chronic pain patients as a participant in the Pain Action Alliance to Implement a National Strategy, here. You can read more educational information and about her books on her website, http://TheseThree.com