Author: Cheng CA1, Chiu YW2, Wu D3, Kuan YC4, Chen SN5, Tam KW6
Affiliation:
1School of Medicine, College of Medicine, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan.
2Master Program in Global Health and Development, Health Policy and Care Research Center, College of Public Health, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan.
3Department of Neurology, Shuang Ho Hospital, Taipei Medical University, New Taipei City, Taiwan; Department of Neurology, School of Medicine, College of Medicine, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan; Sleep Center, Shuang Ho Hospital, Taipei Medical University, New Taipei City, Taiwan.
4Department of Neurology, Shuang Ho Hospital, Taipei Medical University, New Taipei City, Taiwan; Department of Neurology, School of Medicine, College of Medicine, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan.
5School of Medicine, College of Medicine, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan. Electronic address: b101104048@tmu.edu.tw.
6Center for Evidence-Based Health Care, Shuang Ho Hospital, Taipei Medical University, New Taipei City, Taiwan; Division of General Surgery, Department of Surgery, School of Medicine, College of Medicine, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan; Division of General Surgery, Department of Surgery, Shuang Ho Hospital, Taipei Medical University, New Taipei City, Taiwan; Cochrane Taiwan, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan. Electronic address: kelvintam@h.tmu.edu.tw.
Conference/Journal: Complement Ther Med.
Date published: 2019 Oct
Other:
Volume ID: 46 , Pages: 1-8 , Special Notes: doi: 10.1016/j.ctim.2019.07.007. Epub 2019 Jul 10. , Word Count: 254
OBJECTIVE: To identify empirical evidence on the effectiveness of Tai Chi in treating fibromyalgia (FM).
METHOD: We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) to compare the effectiveness of Tai Chi and standard care or conventional therapeutic exercise in patients with FM. PubMed, Medline, and Physiotherapy Evidence Database were searched for relevant studies published before May 2019. Treatment effectiveness was evaluated using the fibromyalgia impact questionnaire (FIQ), and the total score, pain score, sleep quality index, fatigue, depression, and quality of life were assessing among the patients.
RESULTS: Six RCTs with 657 patients were included. Results of our meta-analysis indicated that Tai Chi exerts significant positive effects on reducing the total FIQ score at 12-16 weeks (standard mean difference [SMD]: -0.61; 95% confidence interval [CI]: -0.90 to -0.31) and pain score (SMD: -0.88; 95% CI: -1.58 to -0.18), improving sleep quality (SMD: -0.57; 95% CI: -0.86 to -0.28), relieving fatigue (SMD: -0.92; 95% CI: -1.81 to -0.04), alleviating depression (SMD: -0.49; 95% CI: -0.97 to -0.01), and enhancing quality of life physically (SMD: 6.21; 95% CI: 3.18-9.24) and psychologically (SMD: 5.15; 95% CI: 1.50-8.81).
CONCLUSION: Tai Chi exerts significantly greater effects on patients with FM than standard care; therefore, we suggest that Tai Chi can be used as an alternative treatment. However, more large-scale, high-quality, and multicenter trials are required to provide stronger evidence on the effectiveness of Tai Chi, as an alternative to aerobic exercise, compared with conventional therapeutic exercise.
Copyright © 2019 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
KEYWORDS: Fibromyalgia; Fibromyalgia impact questionnaire; Meta-analysis; Symptom management; Tai Chi
PMID: 31519264 DOI: 10.1016/j.ctim.2019.07.007
