Dynamic stability based identification of optimal Tai Chi forms for preventing falls among older adults with knee osteoarthritis

Objective: Knee osteoarthritis increases the risk of falls among older adults. Tai Chi (TC) has been increasingly utilized to prevent falls in older adults. However, findings from previous studies are inconclusive, possibly due to a lack of scientifically sound methodologies to identify targeted TC forms, which likely maximize the training effects in preventing falls. It has been recently indicated that individual TC forms challenge body balance to varying degrees, providing us a foundation to select optimal TC forms. The objective of this preliminary study was to examine whether the challenge to body balance quantified by the range of dynamic stability is different between identified optimal TC forms (OTC) and commonly used TC (CTC) forms among older adults with knee osteoarthritis. Methods: Eight older adults with knee osteoarthritis learned how to perform 24 ​TC forms correctly. Their full-body kinematics during the performance of 24 ​TC forms was collected. The range of composite dynamic stability was used as the selection criteria to identify eight OTC forms. The range of composite dynamic stability was then compared between the OTC forms and eight CTC forms. Results: Overall, OTC forms showed a significantly larger range of composite dynamic stability than CTC forms (p ​= ​0.021). Conclusion: The selected OTC forms could impose a greater challenge on balance control among older adults than CTC forms. The finding in this study is significant as it could furnish a scientific basis for identifying the best TC forms to optimize the effectiveness of TC-based fall prevention interventions.