Fibromyalgia patients who took tai chi classes twice a week for three months experienced less pain, stiffness, and fatigue than a control group that attended lifestyle education and stretching sessions, according to the study, which was published in the New England Journal of Medicine.
Tai chi involves a series of slow, fluid movements that focus on balance and deep breathing. Although it's not clear from the study how exactly tai chi might improve fibromyalgia symptoms, both the physical activity and the meditative aspects are likely beneficial, says Chenchen Wang, MD, the lead researcher and an associate professor at the Tufts University School of Medicine, in Boston.
"Some people need the physical improvement; some people need more mental improvement," she says. "Tai chi can help with both."
Previous research has shown that tai chi can help relieve the symptoms of arthritis and other pain conditions, but this study is the first controlled trial to examine its effectiveness as a treatment for fibromyalgia, which affects an estimated 10 million Americans.
The study included 66 fibromyalgia patients who were randomly assigned to take one-hour tai chi classes with an experienced teacher or one-hour classes that taught coping skills, pain-management techniques, and stretching. Participants were also asked to practice tai chi or stretch on their own for 20 minutes each day, depending on which group they were in.
After three months, Dr. Wang and her colleagues asked the patients to rate their pain symptoms, physical functioning, fatigue, and mood, all of which were combined on a single scale ranging from 0 to 100, with higher scores indicating more severe symptoms. (The patients completed the same survey before the study began.)
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