Researchers have developed a 13 posture Tai
Chi program for the disabled, transforming the wheelchair from an assistive
device to a tool of empowerment and artistic expression.
Researchers
have developed a 13 posture Tai Chi program for disabled people, transforming
the wheelchair from an assistive device to a tool of empowerment and artistic
expression.
13
Posture Wheelchair Tai Chi, which brings traditional Chinese martial and
healing arts to people with ambulatory impairment, was developed by Dr. Zibin
Guo of the University of Tennessee Chattanooga.
The
work was also published recently in the journal Technology and Innovation –
Proceedings of the National Academy of Inventors®.
In
2008, Guo collaborated with the China Disabled People’s Federation and the
Beijing Paralympics Committee to introduce the Tai Chi Wheelchair at the 2008
Beijing Olympics/Paralympics Cultural Festival. The innovative program
incorporates 13 of the standard 24 Tai Chi movements.
A
demonstration event from the 2008 Beijing Olympics/Paralympics Cultural
Festival:
“Too often, social and cultural barriers
discourage people with physical disabilities from participating in fitness
activities,” said Guo.
“Wheelchair
Tai Chi can be practiced seated for those needing simple, low-impact,
upper-body exercise by integrating wheelchair motion with the gentle, dynamic
flowing movements of Tai Chi. It lifts the spirit and give practitioners a
sense of command of space,” he said.
Tai Chi
(太极拳)
has been part of Chinese traditional medicine for thousands of years, but has
not been an accessible form of martial arts, therapy, or exercise for those
with disabilities.
Guo
estimates that 83 million people in China are living with disabilities,
particularly those that limit mobility. Most of these people also live in rural
China where “social and economic development lags behind urban areas,” Guo
said.
He also
cites a National Health Interview Survey that suggests that about 73 percent of
people in the U.S. with disabilities have no or infrequent physical activity.
“Studies
conducted in China and elsewhere suggest that these individuals, and especially
wheelchair users, have significantly lower self-esteem and are more vulnerable
to depression,” Guo explained.
Wheelchair
Tai Chi movements allow a wide range of lower back and hip movements, said Guo.
Also, the movements help promote upper body mobility and internal circulation.
Vertical and horizontal circles improve and stimulate the rotation and range of
motion for the torso, waist, back, shoulders, arms, and wrists.
“The
slow, guided muscle movement has a way of helping to reinforce the muscle
patterns that may not have been present before,” said Dr. Glen F. Haban, a
neuropsychologist at Siskin Hospital for Rehabilitation in Chattanooga when
commenting on early clinical studies related to Wheelchair Tai Chi.
AsianScientist
Source: USF.
No comments:
Post a Comment