Tai Chi Improves Balance and Reduces the Risk of Falls in Older Adults

Anyone who has practiced Tai Chi for any length of time understands its benefits for improving balance, and recent clinical studies confirm this.

Tai Chi involves continuously shifting your body weight from one leg to another, turning and twisting the body, and performing slow, smooth steps in all directions. When you practice, your balance is continually challenged, whether through form movements or partner exercises like pushing hands. These exercises teach you to maintain your central equilibrium and recover your balance when it’s at risk of being lost.

Tai Chi strengthens the legs and core, improves flexibility, and enhances practitioners’ awareness of their body’s position in space. All these factors help keep you stable and reduce the risk of falling.

A 2023 systematic review of 24 Randomized Controlled Trials involving thousands of older adults concluded:

“Tai Chi is an effective exercise for preventing falls and improving balance ability in older adults, whether they are healthy or at high risk of falling.”

If you’d like to learn more about how Tai Chi can improve your balance and reduce your risk of falling, get in touch with us at Contact Us — Applied Tai Chi & Qi Gong.

Why not join one of our regular Tai Chi classes at Darwen Vale High School in Blackburn and Darwen? Visit our website to book online: Tai Chi and Qi Gong Booking Page — Applied Tai Chi & Qi Gong.

1Frontiers | Tai Chi for fall prevention and balance improvement in older adults: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. Weidong Chen, Min Li,Hai Li, Yanzhao Lin, and Zhoushan Feng. Frontiers in Public Health, Vol 11. 2023.