Toronto, Canada, May 31, 2016 – Bel Marra Health (www.BelMarraHealth.com), a company offering specially formulated vitamins and nutritional products, is weighing in on a study comparing the benefits of tai chi vs. physical therapy for knee osteoarthritis.

Researchers performed a study where tai chi was used as treatment for osteoarthritis in the knees and compared it against traditional physical therapy. A previous study had shown better pain control among patients with osteoarthritis once they took part in tai chi, but this study hoped to widen the scope and compare trials with patients who performed regular physical therapy.
(Source: “Tai Chi Versus Physical Therapy for Knee Osteoarthritis,” Annals of Internal Medicine, May 17, 2016; http://annals.org/article.aspx?articleid=2523532.)

“When people think of alternate forms of treatments, usually a pill or some kind of medication comes to mind,” says Dr. Victor Marchione, spokesperson for Bel Marra Health. “But tai chi has been proven to have some practical benefits, and now this study is putting it up against traditional physical therapy.”

Over 200 patients were used for this particular study. All of these individuals were 40 years or older and had confirmed cases of osteoarthritis in the knees. Participants were first assigned to either tai chi or physical therapy and then did training over a 12-week period. They were later encouraged to continue their training for one year. The results showed that there weren’t any differences in pain reduction, but those who participated in tai chi had more improvement in depression levels and quality of life than those in the traditional physical therapy group.

“That’s an important find,” Marchione continues. “Even if the pain is not significantly reduced, the fact that patients come out of tai chi treatment feeling better about themselves psychologically is a factor that shouldn’t be taken for granted.”

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