Study Connects Tai Chi with Recovery from Fibromyalgia

A new study from Tufts University, published last week in The New England Journal of Medicine, has found what appears to be a link between the chronic pain disorder fibromyalgia and Tai Chi, a Chinese martial art that is most often practiced here in the United States for its health benefits rather than self-defense.

The focus on fibromyalgia makes the study especially interesting for Oregon accident victims seeking to recover from a car crash, bicycle crash or industrial accident. According to an analysis by the New York Times, the study “found that after 12 weeks of Tai Chi, patients with fibromyalgia… did significantly better in measurements of pain, fatigue, physical functioning, sleeplessness and depression than a comparable group given stretching exercises and wellness education.”
The paper notes that other medical studies have previously suggested that Tai Chi might hold benefits for other pain suffers, such as people with arthritis. These, however, are relatively well-understood maladies. Fibromyalgia is different. As the Times notes, fibromyalgia is “common”, but remains little-understood and is often difficult to treat. One doctor involved in the study is quoted by the Times attributing Tai Chi’s success with fibromyalgia victims to the discipline’s multiple components: “physical, psychological, social and spiritual.”
The study’s findings are especially good news for accident victims struggling with physical pain, in some cases years after an accident. They are also a reminder that while an Oregon personal injury lawyer can be an essential aide and ally in the legal side of your quest for justice after an Oregon car, bus, truck or bicycle accident, his services can only take you so far. The legal system can help with the medical bills and other personal difficulties that flow from an Oregon injury accident, but at a certain level recovery is also about discipline and dedication. That, it seems, is where an ancient Chinese art focused on training the body as it steadies the mind, may be able to help.

New York Times: Tai Chi reported to ease fibromyalgia

The New England Journal of Medicine: A Randomized Trial of Tai Chi for Fibromyalgia (abstract)

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