Effect Of An Innovative Tai Chi Rehabilitation Program On Proprioception Of Lower Limb In The Aged Female With Knee Osteoarthritis

Background:Knee osteoarthritis (OA) is a major cause of disability as well as a burden onhealthcare resources. Tai chi has been proposed as an alternative and complementarytreatment for the management of knee osteoarthritis, but there appears to be noconsensus on its usefulness. This study aims to develop an innovative tai chirehabilitation program (ITCRP) for patients with knee OA, and to investigate theeffect of ITCRP intervention on proprioception in knee OA.Material/Methods:Aged female individuals with symptomatic knee OA was randomly assigned intoeither an ITCRP group or a control group. The ITCRP group with36individualsparticipated in tai chi two or three times a week for6months. The control group with13individuals received health education. After the6-month intervention period bothgroup tested proprioception of knee and ankle.Results:The ITCRP group performed better proprioception of knee and ankle while thecontrol group showed no significant after health education.Conclusions:The ITCRP group showed a positive outcome in proprioception. Such alterationsin their proprioception would be associated with the enhancement of the muscularstrength and the activation of the neural control function. ITCRP is an effectiveintervention for knee arthritis in proprioception.