Using Tai Chi to Promote Balance and Prevent Falls – A Review from an Epidemiological Perspective

Falls among older people constitute a serious public health problem. Exercise, specifically, Tai Chi was proposed as one of the preventive practices for falls and related injures. We reviewed existing observational and experimental studies and looked from an epidemiological perspective into the strength of the evidence for Tai Chi promoting balance and preventing falls. Many limitations were found in the research methodology of these studies and have been discussed in this review. Future studies should focus on how to address these limitations and improve their validity, hence contribute more convincing evidence on the effect of Tai Chi for balance and fall prevention.