AN ANCIENT MARTIAL ART MAY ROLL BACK THE CLOCK

Yes, you might have guessed it! Practicing the ancient Chinese art Tai Chi (form of exercise practiced by older Chinese for more than 3 centuries) may help seniors improve their balance and reduce the number of times they fall. A martial arts form that works to develop both balance and body awareness, Tai Chi involves slow, graceful and precise body movements. Not only is Tai Chi inexpensive, but it can be done alone at home.

Loss of balance and subsequent falls, while not so hazardous to young people, can cause severe problems in the elderly. "Fear of falling is probably one of the biggest [concerns] among the elderly population," said Dr. Adam Karp, medical director of the Geriatric Falls Prevention Program at the Hospital for Joint Diseases Orthopedic Institute in New York City. "A lot of [senior citizens] don't want to leave the home because of this fear."

Most often it is their brittle bones that are the cause of longer recover time from injury. Whether slipping in the shower or tripping over an icy curb, about one-third of the elderly suffer a serious fall each year, and close to 25 percent may sustain a serious injury such as a hip fracture, according to statistics from the Geriatric Falls Prevention Program at the Hospital for Joint Diseases Orthopedic Institute in New York City. And falls are expensive-costing the US health-care system some $12 billion each year.

Two new studies strongly suggest this as a useful routine in everyone's life, young and old.

In one study (Atlanta), participants who had practiced regularly found that Tai Chi had helped them achieve the balance ability of someone three to 10 years younger. 200 people 70 and older, who took part in a 15-week Tai Chi program reduced their rate of falls by 47.5 percent.

In the another study Connecticut researchers found that three months of intensive equilibrium and strength training improved balance in 110 senior citizens by 25 to 50 percent, and improved strength by 17 percent.

Training was followed with six months of Tai Chi exercise for an hour a week, which helped maintain some of the improvements, according to researchers led by Dr. Leslie Wolfson. In her study, elderly people who went through a three-month balance training program that met three times per week restored their equilibrium to a level similar to a person 3 to 10 years younger. In the Atlanta study, older people who practiced Tai Chi for 15 weeks feared falling less than they did before the study began.

"The principal advantage of Tai Chi exercise is that it is a low-technology approach to conditioning that can be implemented at relatively low cost in widely distributed facilities throughout the community," is the opinion of Steven N. Blair and Melissa E. Garcia of the Cooper Institute for Aerobics Research in Dallas, Texas.

These results add to the growing body of evidence showing that Tai Chi can help preserve strength and balance gains achieved by more intensive training, and reduce the risk of multiple falls in older individuals.