Tai Chi and Yoga Performance Prior to Eccentric Exercise Benefits Older Adults with Chronic Conditions. A Pilot Study

SUMMARY
Background. Previous research indicates that eccentric contraction (ECC) exercise training was more effective for improving the muscle strength, mobility, balance, and postural stability of older adults compared to the concentric contraction (CON) exercise training. Chair yoga (CY) and tai chi (TC) popularity have grown tremendously in the past several years to treat older adults with chronic conditions. The study investigated the effect of CY and TC performance prior to various intensity of ECC exercise induced muscle pain, delayed onset of muscle sores (DOMS), and strength in sedentary older adults. The study also compared the physical status of the sedentary older adults before and after performing the entire exercise protocol.
Methods. Nine sedentary older adults with chronic condition(s) aged between 60 and 90 performed CY and TC prior to ECC exercise protocol for 9 weeks. The medical pre-protocol, ECC exercise with or without CY and TC, subjective (health activities
of daily living (ADL) difficulty scale; visual analog scale (VAS), and DOMS, and objective (pressure pain threshold (PPT), and medical post-protocol assessments were carried out. The results of medical pre-protocol and medical post-protocol assessments
were compared.
Results. Our results show that functional limitations, DOMS, VAS, and PPT levels were improved when the CY and TC were performed in weeks 2, 4, 6, and 8 compared to when ECC exercise was performed in weeks 3 and 7. The manual muscle testing (MMT), active range of motion (AROM), and maximal voluntary isometric contraction (MVIC) were improved and showed significant differences on the weak muscle groups. The mean Tinetti balance and gait score showed significant difference whereas the general endurance score did not show significant difference.
Conclusions. After 9 weeks, CY, and TC performance prior to ECC exercise improved muscle strength, balance, gait, AROM and ADL activities in the sedentary older adults with chronic conditions. This can potentially prevent age-related mobility and balance as well as its related fall risk.