Taijiquan is a branch of the traditional sport of wushu. As a means of keeping fit and preventing and curing diseases, it has been widely practiced among the people since the 16th century. Its popularity has further increased with the adoption of a simplified set of exercises in 1956. Forming an important part of the treatment often prescribed in hospitals and sanatoriums, taijiquan has proved its efficacy in treating chronic diseases such as high blood pressure, neurasthenia and pulmonary tuberculosis.

    The salubrious effects of taijiquan have much to do with its characteristic features, namely: 1) the exercises require a high degree of concentration, with the mind free from distractions; 2) the movements are slow and uninterrupted like a flowing stream; and 3) breathing is natural, sometimes involving abdominal respiration, and is performed in rhythmic harmony with body movements. From the viewpoint of sports medicine, these characteristics are important factors contributing to the prevention and treatment of diseases.

    The high degree of concentration required in taijiquan exercises also benefits the function of the central nervous system. Training the mind and the body at the same time, these exercises stimulate the cerebral cortex, causing excitation in certain regions and protective inhibition in others. This enables the cerebrum to rest and relieves the cerebral cortex of the pathological excitation caused by ailments, thus helping to cure certain nervous and mental diseases.

    The results of recently completed testing and examination involving taijiquan practitioners are of particular interest to medical and sport personnel. In the project, healthy subjects aged 50-89 were divided in two groups and given a battery of tests. Group A contained 32 persons who practiced taijiquan regularly, while Group B (the control group) was composed of 56 individuals who did not engage in taijiquan training. In general, those in Group A were found to have stronger physiques characterized by more efficiently functioning cardiovascular, respiratory, osseous and metabolic systems.

    Speicfic Findings

    In regard to cardiovascular efficiency, the two groups underwent a functional test of stepping up and down a 40-cm-high bench 15 times within a minute. All but one person in Group A could bear this workload with normal type responses in blood pressure and pulses. In the control group, however, capability of bearing this workload decreased and abnormal responses (such as type of step reaction and dystonia reaction) increased with the age of the subjects. The difference was also evident in electrocardiograms. Abnormal patterns such as the prolongation of the P-R interval, the complex QRS and the QT duration, the reduction of the RV amplitude, the depression of ST and the inversion of T, were found in 28.2 per cent of the subjects in Group A and 41.3 per cent in Group B. These findings suggest that regular practice of taijiquan results in an increased supply of blood to the coronary arteries, more forceful heart contractions and improved hemodynamic processes. Moreover, taijiquan may enhance the regulatory function of the central nervous system, improve the coordination of the various organs in the human body, increase the tension of the vagus nerves, ensure adequate supplies of blood and oxygen to the tissues of the various organs and facilitate substance metabolism - all of which contribute to a lower rate of incidence of hypertension and arteriosclerosis. The average blood pressure was 134.1/80.8 mmHg for Group A and 154.5/82.7 mmHg for Group B, while the rate of incidence of arteriosclerosis was 39.5 and 46.4 per cent respectively.

    Regular practice of taijiquan exercises can increase the elasticity of the lung tissues, the respiratory magnitude of the chest (which helps to retard the ossification of the rib cartilages), ventilatory capacity of the lungs and improves the exchange of oxygen and carbon dioxide. Experiments showed Group A to be superior in both the respiratory discrepancy of the chest and vital capacity. The greater vital capacity result from a stronger diaphragm and muscles of the thoracic walls, greater lung tissue elasticity and a lower rate of ossification of rib cartilages. For those whose breathing is already limited by ossifiction of rib cartilages, abdominal respiration accompanying taijiquan exercises will help ventilation of the lungs and, through rhythmic change of abdominal pressure, speed up blood flow and gas exchange in the alveoli pulmonum. This explains why, when completing the functional test, Group A subjects pleting the functional test, Group A subjects breathed more easily and recovered more quickly than those in the control group.

    Taijiquan exercises can also strengthen bones, muscles and joints. Take the spine for instance. Since many taijiquan movements hinge on the waist and involve a great deal of lumbar movement, systematic exercise can be beneficial to the form and structure of the lumbar vertebral and indeed the spinal column as a whole. Researchers noted that only 25.8 per cent of the subjects in Group A suffered from spinal column deformities, whereas in the control group the percentage was 47.2. Furthermore, fewer Group A subjects were victims of common, age-related hunchback deformities. Individuals in this group had more flexible spines, as evidenced by the fact the 77.4 per cent of them were able to do touch-toes, as against 16.6 per cent in the control group. X-ray examination indicated that the rate of incidence of senile osteoporosis was 36.6 per cent for Group A and 63.8 per cent for Group B. Senile osteoporosis, which often leads to deformity and inflexibility of joints, is a degenerative affliction mainly caused by inactivity of the osteoblasts resulting in their inability to produce sufficient matrices so that more bone is resorbed than formed. It may also be caused by such factors as reduced blood supply to bones owing to arteriosclerosis and poor absorption of calcium and potassium from food due to the lack of hydrochloric acid in the gastric juices. Insofar as taijiquan can prevent or lessen such disorders, its role in retarding the aging process is noteworthy.

    Limited data were uncovered relative to the effects of taijiquan exercises on substance metabolism in the human body. However, judging from the difference between the two groups of oldsters in skeletal changes and in the incidence of arteriosclerosis, the beneficial effects of exercise appear significant as far as the metabolism of fats, proteins and calcium and potassium salts is concerned. In recent years, several researchers in other countries have studied the role of physical exercises in delaying senescence. Cholesterol levels have dropped substantially for those engaged in regular exercises. Experiments conducted on elderly people inflicted with arteriosclerosis reveal that after five or six months' training there has been an increase of albumin and a marked decrease of globulin and cholesterol in their blood, while symptoms of arteriosclerosis have greatly diminished.

    Conclusion

    These findings, though preliminary and superficial, suggest that a regular programme of taijiquan exercises can be of benefit to one's physical well-being.

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