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Wednesday, an interesting study was released that indicated exercising, particularly, tai chi can reduce falling a major problem with Parkinson's. Tai Chi Keeps the Doctor Away, Research Says / Chinese exercise helped elderly keep from falling Paul Recer Wednesday, May 3, 1995 WASHINGTON -- Exercises based on tai chi, a Chinese martial art described as slow-motion kung fu, can help the elderly reduce the risk of falling, which is a multibillion-dollar cause of injuries. A study of 2,328 elderly people in a program of general exercise showed that falls could be reduced by about 13 percent, and that tai chi training was the most beneficial, reducing injuries by 25 percent, researchers reported Wednesday in the Journal of the American Medical Association. Dr. Michael A. Province of Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, lead author of the study, said that falling was a significant health risk for people over the age of 60. "For the elderly, falls are a big deal," said Province. Injuries from falls are "a big medical problem. They can even be a death sentence." About 30 percent of people over 65 fall at least once a year, and 10 to 15 percent of these falls result in injuries, such as fractures of the hip or other bones. Such injuries among the elderly, Province said, can lead to a decline in health and hasten death. Treating fall injuries represents a huge health care cost to the nation, he said. A federal study in 1977 estimated that 6 percent of all medical care dollars for the elderly were spent on care of unintentional injury, mostly from falls. Such injuries are the sixth leading cause of death for the old, Province said, and it is estimated that the costs are more than $4 billion annually. "The problem will get worse," Province said. "There is a tidal wave of elderly coming in the baby boom generation." In the JAMA study, eight treatment centers developed programs of exercise for older people and then compared the participants' history of falling with comparable groups of elderly who did no exercise. Data from all of the centers were combined for a statistical conclusion. The exercises varied from center to center and included weight training, stretching, endurance training and balance training. The programs lasted from 10 weeks to nine months, and the participants were followed for up to four years. Province said that tai chi, which he described as "kungfu in slow motion," was the most beneficial of the exercises tried. Province said Tai Chi was the most beneficial of the exercises tried. Tai Chi, which involves slow, controlled movements that emphasize maintaining good balance, was used only at Emory University. The study sites were Kaiser Permanente in Portland, Ore.; Yale University in New Haven, Conn.; the University of Washington in Seattle; Audie L. Murphy Veterans Hospital in San Antonio; Emory University in Atlanta; Harvard Medical School in Cambridge; the University of Iowa in Iowa City; and the University of Connecticut in Farmington. John Cottingham NEW ADDRESS: [log in to unmask]