Tai Chi Won’t Prevent Falls

But neither will golf, tennis, pickleball, or any sport that people play or engage in. What tai chi has been shown it can do is to lessen the chances of falling, a problem that becomes more common as people age.

In an article on heart.org titled “Balance Exercise,” it’s stated that there are four types of exercises that people should do. One of the four are balance exercises.

According to the Mayo Clinic,

• “Balance exercises can help you keep your balance at any age. They can make you feel more secure. Older adults especially need balance exercises to help prevent falls. The risk of falling goes up after age 65. It’s good to include balance training with physical activity and strength training in your daily activity.”

Here’s a quote from the article:

“Having good balance is important for many activities we do every day, such as walking and going up and down the stairs. Exercises that improve balance can help prevent falls, a common problem in older adults and stroke survivors. They can also benefit those who are obese since weight is not always carried or distributed evenly throughout the body. A loss of balance can occur when standing or moving suddenly. Often, we are not fully aware that we may have weak balance until we try balance exercises.”

One frequently mentioned balance exercise on health-related websites is tai chi. It can help someone wishing to improve their balance, especially seniors, given that the Center of Disease Control and Prevention reported that “Falls are the leading cause of injury for adults ages 65 years and older. Over 14 million, or 1 in 4 older adults report falling every year.” 

The report adds that “Falls among adults aged 65 and older are common, costly, and preventable.”

Preventable!

Another article that details benefits of doing tai chi was published in 2023 and is available from the NIH (National Institutes of Health). It’s titled “Tai Chi for fall prevention and balance improvement in older adults: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.” 

That study shared these results:

• “Tai chi can effectively reduce the risk of falls in older adults.”
• Tai chi can “decrease the number of falls.”
• “Tai Chi can also improve the balance ability of older adults.”
• “Tai Chi is effective for both healthy older adults and those at high risk of falls.”

The NIH article’s authors drew this conclusion:

“Tai Chi is an effective exercise for preventing falls and improving balance ability in older adults, whether they are healthy or at risk of falling. The effectiveness of Tai Chi increases with exercise time and frequency. Yang-style tai chi is more effective than Sun-style tai chi.”

When I browsed the article, this surprised me: “Annually, between 28 and 35% of individuals aged 65  years and older experience falls worldwide, with rates reaching 32–42% among those over 70  years of age.”

Tai chi’s benefits extend beyond improving balance.

An article on the Harvard Health website says this about tai chi: “This gentle form of exercise can help maintain strength, flexibility, and balance, and could be the perfect activity for the rest of your life.” How many other exercises have had that said about them by a highly credible medical source?