Immortal4life Posted January 31, 2011 (edited) Throughout the history of modern medicine no known physical exercise was ever found to be able to fight a virus, however a new major scientific study found that practicing Tai Chi was able to contribute to the bodies' ability to fight against the Shingles virus-  Actually it's long been known in China that tai chi can cure many diseases including high blood pressure, arthritis, ulcers, tuberculosis and heart disease Tai chi fights shingles | Julie's Health Club - Where alternative and mainstream health meet http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070408/ap_on_he_me/fitness_tai_chi_shingles Tai chi, a traditional Chinese form of exercise, boosts immunity to the painful shingles virus in older adults, according to a study sponsored by the National Institutes of Health and published this week in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society. Its the first rigorous clinical trial to suggest that a behavioral intervention, alone or in combination with a vaccine, can help protect older adults from varicella-zoster virus, which causes both chickenpox and shingles.  The study appears in the April issue of the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society and was led by Dr. Michael Irwin of the University of California, Los Angeles. Shingles is a painful skin rash that can pop up in people who have had chickenpox. The chickenpox virus can remain dormant in the body and resurface as shingles years later. It usually starts with pain and itching on the skin that later turns into an irritating rash.  An estimated 1 million Americans are afflicted with shingles every year and it commonly occurs in people 50 years old and older.  The UCLA study involved 112 healthy adults, ages 59 to 86, who have had previous cases of chickenpox.  Half of them took tai chi classes three times a week for three months and the rest attended health education classes where they were taught good diet habits and stress management. Then both groups were vaccinated with a chickenpox vaccine. Researchers took periodic blood tests before and after vaccination to determine their level of immunity against shingles.  After six months, the tai chi group had nearly twice the level of immunity against shingles than the education group.  Those who performed tai chi before vaccination had an immune response that was similar to what a vaccine would produce in a younger population. Tai chi combined with the vaccine showed a 40 percent increase in immunity than the vaccine alone, researchers found.   Scientific Study- Wiley InterScience :: Session Cookies Edited January 31, 2011 by Immortal4life Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ya Mu Posted January 31, 2011 Throughout the history of modern medicine no known physical exercise was ever found to be able to fight a virus, however a new major scientific study found that practicing Tai Chi was able to contribute to the bodies' ability to fight against the Shingles virus-  Actually it's long been known in China that tai chi can cure many diseases including high blood pressure, arthritis, ulcers, tuberculosis and heart disease Tai chi fights shingles | Julie's Health Club - Where alternative and mainstream health meet http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070408/ap_on_he_me/fitness_tai_chi_shingles  It is always good when these studies show positive results of our favorite exercises. Some words of caution: Didn't read the article but bet the study does not compare other exercises like rebounding or qigong, which has been shown through "studies" to do the same thing.  And I certainly take issue with this statement, "Actually it's long been known in China that tai chi can cure many diseases..." This statement rings false. It uses the word "cure" which is simply not true. Substitute the words "can significantly help" and I would agree. An example - A person practices Tai Jee and their blood pressure goes down. They then quit practicing or don't practice as often. The HBP comes back. If it was "cured" it wouldn't come back. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Immortal4life Posted January 31, 2011 (edited) The Study compared people who practiced Tai Chi vs. people who got health education and exercise programs developed by western scientists. The tai Chi group showed an improvememnt in resistance to Shingles over the other group. Â Yes you are correct that cured is a tricky word. The word I chose was "can" cure, rather than "will" cure. Of course Tai chi can be difficult and not everyone will necessarily have the will power to persist. Also things like HBP can have a lot to do with poor lifestyle choices. Edited January 31, 2011 by Immortal4life Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
