Tai Chi Chuan Combined With Walking on Physical and Mental Parameters of Older Adults

NCT ID: NCT06380413

Last Updated: 2024-04-23

Basic Information

• Recruitment Status: NOT_YET_RECRUITING
• Clinical Phase: NA
• Total Enrollment: 40 participants
• Study Classification: INTERVENTIONAL
• Study Start Date: 2024-05-20
• Study Completion Date: 2025-07-31

Brief Summary

Background: Tai Chi Chuan, a Chinese martial art style, is a mind-body modality that has shown positive impacts on health markers in various populations, particularly older adults. This study aims to investigate the effects of a 12-week program of Tai Chi Chuan exercises based on the Yang 16-movement form and walking on older adults' physical and mental markers.

Methods: This study is a randomized, single-blinded, two-arm, parallel, superiority trial. Forty older adults between 60 and 75 years old who are not engaged in any systematic strength and aerobic training program will be recruited. Candidates with language and cognitive problems, a history of cardiovascular diseases (except controlled hypertension), osteoarticular limitations and fractures, severe injuries, and prosthetic placement in the last six months will be excluded. Participants will be randomly allocated on a 1:1 ratio to a 12-week intervention with Tai Chi Chuan and walking two times per week, or an active-control group with walking two times per week. Physical measures will be muscle strength (i.e., knee extensors maximum strength and lower limbs functional performance -primary outcomes-, dynamic knee extensors endurance, handgrip strength, back-leg-chest strength), functional capacity, static balance, muscle thickness and muscle quality of quadriceps. Mental measures will be quality of life, sleep quality, cognitive function, and depressive and anxiety symptoms. Outcomes will be measured before and after 12 weeks of intervention. The analysis plan will use an intention-to-treat approach and protocol criteria.

Discussion: The conceptual hypothesis is that the intervention training program with Tai Chi Chuan and walking will lead to greater improvements in both physical and mental parameters due to its multi-component character compared to the walking active-control group.

Conditions

Aging

Study Design

• Allocation Method: RANDOMIZED
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Primary Study Purpose: TREATMENT
• Blinding Strategy: SINGLE

Study Groups

Tai Chi Chuan Plus Walking

Tai Chi Chuan plus walking program twice a week

Group Type: EXPERIMENTAL

Tai Chi Chuan Plus Walking

Intervention Type: OTHER

Participants perform a 12-week program with two weekly sessions on non-consecutive days. The sessions last 75 min (5 min of warm-up, 45 min of Tai Chi Chuan (TCC), 20 min of walking, and 5 min of cool-down). The intervention occurs at the School of Physical Education, Federal University of Pelotas. The TCC section occurs in a mirrored dance studio, while walking occurs on an indoor sports court. The TCC sections are based on the simplified Yang 16-movement form. Over the 12 weeks, participants learn the fundamentals and basic principles of TCC and practice the 16 movements. In the walking sections, the intensity of the effort and recovery periods are controlled through the Rate of Perceived Exertion (RPE) using the Borg scale 6-20. Effort and recovery periods are on 13 and 11 RPE, respectively. The effort and recovery lengths vary over the weeks. The training sessions are collective, with 5 to 20 participants, supervised by two experienced instructors, a TCC and a fitness instructor.

Walking

Walking program twice a week

Group Type: ACTIVE_COMPARATOR

Walking

Intervention Type: OTHER

Participants perform a 12-week training program with two weekly exercise sessions on non-consecutive days. The sessions last 30 minutes (5 minutes of warm-up, 20 minutes of walking, and 5 minutes of cool-down) throughout the intervention period. The intervention occurs in an indoor sports court at the School of Physical Education, Federal University of Pelotas. In the walking sections, the intensity of the effort and recovery periods are controlled through the Rate of Perceived Exertion (RPE) using the Borg scale 6-20. Effort and recovery periods are on 13 and 11 RPE, respectively. The effort and recovery lengths vary over the weeks. The training sessions are collective, with 5 to 20 participants, supervised by two experienced instructors, a TCC and a fitness instructor.

Interventions

Tai Chi Chuan Plus Walking

Participants perform a 12-week program with two weekly sessions on non-consecutive days. The sessions last 75 min (5 min of warm-up, 45 min of Tai Chi Chuan (TCC), 20 min of walking, and 5 min of cool-down). The intervention occurs at the School of Physical Education, Federal University of Pelotas. The TCC section occurs in a mirrored dance studio, while walking occurs on an indoor sports court. The TCC sections are based on the simplified Yang 16-movement form. Over the 12 weeks, participants learn the fundamentals and basic principles of TCC and practice the 16 movements. In the walking sections, the intensity of the effort and recovery periods are controlled through the Rate of Perceived Exertion (RPE) using the Borg scale 6-20. Effort and recovery periods are on 13 and 11 RPE, respectively. The effort and recovery lengths vary over the weeks. The training sessions are collective, with 5 to 20 participants, supervised by two experienced instructors, a TCC and a fitness instructor.

Intervention Type: OTHER

Walking

Participants perform a 12-week training program with two weekly exercise sessions on non-consecutive days. The sessions last 30 minutes (5 minutes of warm-up, 20 minutes of walking, and 5 minutes of cool-down) throughout the intervention period. The intervention occurs in an indoor sports court at the School of Physical Education, Federal University of Pelotas. In the walking sections, the intensity of the effort and recovery periods are controlled through the Rate of Perceived Exertion (RPE) using the Borg scale 6-20. Effort and recovery periods are on 13 and 11 RPE, respectively. The effort and recovery lengths vary over the weeks. The training sessions are collective, with 5 to 20 participants, supervised by two experienced instructors, a TCC and a fitness instructor.

Intervention Type: OTHER

Eligibility Criteria

Inclusion Criteria

• Not be engaged in any regular and systematic strength and aerobic training with a frequency greater than one session per week in the previous six months;
• To live in Pelotas without the intention of moving or traveling during the intervention period.

Exclusion Criteria

• Language and cognition problems (accessed through the Mini-Mental State Examination, minimum score ≥28 points for people with >11 years of schooling, ≥23 points for people with 1-11 years of schooling, and ≥16 points for illiterate);
• History of cardiovascular diseases (except medication-controlled hypertension);
• Osteoarticular limitations that may impair physical exercise performance, such as fracture, prosthesis placement, or severe injury in the last six months.

• Minimum Eligible Age: 60 Years
• Maximum Eligible Age: 75 Years
• Eligible Sex: ALL
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes

Sponsors

Federal University of Pelotas

OTHER

Sponsor Role: lead

Responsible Party

Cristine Lima Alberton

Principal Investigator

Responsibility Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Principal Investigators

Cristine L Alberton, PhD

Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Federal University of Pelotas

Locations

Escola Superior de Educação Física e FIsioterapia

Pelotas, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil

Countries

Brazil

Central Contacts

Breno B Vasconcelos, Msc

Role: CONTACT

brenobvasc@gmail.com

+55 53 98432 2403

Luana S Andrade, PhD

Role: CONTACT

andradelu94@gmail.com

+55 53 99982 1398

Facility Contacts

Cristine L Alberton, PhD

Role: primary

References

Vasconcelos BB, Freitas MP, Crochemore-Silva I, Alberton CL. Effects of a 12-week Tai Chi Chuan combined with walking program on physical and mental parameters of older adults: rationale and methodological protocol for a randomized controlled trial. Trials. 2025 Oct 27;26(1):446. doi: 10.1186/s13063-025-09190-1.

Reference Type: DERIVED

PMID: 41146306 (View on PubMed)

Other Identifiers

78972024.7.0000.5313

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id