Tai Chi as an Alternative and Complementary Therapy for Patients With Asthma and Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and asthma are the third ranking cause of death worldwide. A systematic review was conducted to determine the efficacy of tai chi as a therapy to relieve symptoms of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and/or asthma. Inclusion criteria were (a) published in the English language, (b) between the period January 2008 and July 2012, (c) included tai chi or any form of modified tai chi as a therapy in an intervention, (d) used any quantitative study design, and (e) measured chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and/or asthma as an outcome. A total of 5 interventions from 6 studies met these criteria. Tai chi as an effective therapy for asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease is still difficult to determine, although the result listed here are promising. Limitations include small sample sizes, high attrition rates, and short intervention durations.