How Tai Chi and Qigong May Help with Early-Onset Alzheimer’s

How do tai chi and qigong help people with early-onset Alzheimer’s disease? A research study and videos to use.

By Bob Etherington and Jesse Leinfelder

The Tai Chi Foundation (TCF) became involved in a project a few years ago to provide content for a study on early-onset Alzheimer’s disease and the potential of tai chi as a treatment modality.

In the summer of 2022, former TCF administrator Penny Harrison was contacted by neurologist Dustin Hammers, PhD, of Indiana University. Hammers wanted to know if TCF would consider collaborating on a study involving approximately 20 teaching hospitals nationwide to assess whether teaching patients tai chi could help mitigate some of the disabling effects of early-onset Alzheimer’s. During my meeting with Dr. Hammers, he informed me (Bob) that the teaching would be conducted via video.

This was fairly early in our school’s use of online video teaching. Recognizing that one of the primary traits of people with this disease is the decreased ability to focus and learn new material, it seemed unlikely we would be able to teach them enough of the form to be useful. I proposed that, for ease of transmission, we teach them our Five Element Qigong instead, and Dr. Hammers agreed.

In fall 2022, I hired a camera operator/editor, who joined Greg Woodson, Kate Mansfield, Steve Shulman, and me in a studio to film teaching sessions in half-hour segments. Greg taught the three main movements known as TYB: Embracing the Tao, Yin/Yang Breath, and Constant Bear. We then taught exercises from each of the five elements in our Five Element Qigong. Kate demonstrated some of the movements and massages of Water, Steve of Wood, Greg of Fire, I did Earth, and Kate finished with Metal.

In the study, participants are instructed to view and practice each of the videos for two weeks, starting with TYB, and then progressing through each of the five elements in sequence over 12 weeks, concluding with a review of the first two sessions. I have to admit that I heard Patrick and the Professor whispering in my ear that doing tai chi was superior to qigong, but for this population, two half-hour sessions a week, learning from a video without personal instruction, would make learning the form unlikely in the time frame.

There are participants in this study who do not practice our qigong but rather perform other exercises for the same amount of time, and a third group that does not have any exercise prescribed at all

So, we created these videos for the study, which is expected to conclude in 2028. We will wait for the results upon the conclusion of the study.

In the meantime, the videos are our property and are available for our use. The question is, how do we want to use them? One caveat is that they were made quickly and are by no means perfect. Can you think of other populations that might benefit from this content? Or other creative ways to use this video footage?

Click below to view the videos on the TCF Vimeo platform:

https://vimeo.com/showcase/10871977

Password: LITES25

The program is free to access.

We state that our mission is to spread tai chi to the general public as far and wide as we can. But, from my perspective, our real mission is to spread the benefits of tai chi. Might this be a way for more people to receive those benefits?

If this is the first time you have heard of this study, then viewing this content might spur your ideas of someone you may know that may not be able or inclined to learn the Tai Chi Form, who may benefit from this work.

If you can think of a group that might be inclined to use these videos, please let us know so we can work together to facilitate access.

Bob Etherington

Email at rwetherington3@gmail.com

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