Impact of Tai Chi in Cervical Myelopathy

April 10, 2026 updated by: Scott Daffner, West Virginia University

Impact of Tai Chi on Balance and Fall Risk in Patients With Cervical Myelopathy

The goal of this observational study is to determine if patients with cervical myelopathy who participate in a Tai Chi program will demonstrate improved gait and balance compared to patients who undergo usual care.

Participants must be 18 years or older and have a diagnosis of cervical myelopathy.

Study Overview

Status

Not yet recruiting

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

Patients who meet inclusion criteria and choose to participate will be randomized to either participate in a Tai Chi falls-prevention program or continue with usual care. Those in the Tai Chi program will attend a pre-determined number of Tai Chi classes for a period of approximately 6-8 weeks. Investigators will assess their gait and balance at the time of enrollment and at several timepoints after they have participated in the class (similar timepoints for those randomized to usual care).

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Estimated)

20

Phase

  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Contact

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

  • Adult
  • Older Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Diagnosis of Cervical Myelopathy with planned surgery
  • 18 years of age or older
  • Able to participate in intervention (attend and participate in classes)

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Wheelchair bound at initial visit
  • Other verified potential cause of gait instability/balance problems
  • Unable to participate in intervention (unable to attend/participate in classes)

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Prevention
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: Single

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
No Intervention: Standard of Care (Control)
Subjects will follow the current standard of care procedures utilized by the WVU Spine Center.
Experimental: Intervention Group (Tai Chi)
These subjects will participate in 12 sessions of Tai Chi class over the course of 6 weeks.
Other: Tai Chi Program
Twelve sessions (six weeks) of a Tai Chi Program to assist with balance and fall risk.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Timed Up and Go Test - Baseline
Time Frame: Baseline

Establish a baseline score. The Timed Up and Go Test (TUG) assesses mobility, balance, walking ability, and fall risk in older adults.

Setup: The person sits in a standard armchair. Instructions: On the command "Go," the person stands up, walks 3 meters (about 10 feet) at a comfortable pace, turns around, walks back to the chair, and sits down.

Timing: The time taken from the command "Go" until the person sits back down is recorded. This is recorded in minutes:seconds.

Scoring Normal Mobility: Completing the test in less than 10 seconds. Mild Mobility Impairment: Completing the test in 10-19 seconds. Moderate Mobility Impairment: Completing the test in 20-29 seconds. Severe Mobility Impairment: Taking 30 seconds or more to complete the test. A time of 12 seconds or more indicates a higher risk of falling.
Baseline
Timed Up and Go Test - 6 weeks
Time Frame: 6 weeks post-operatively

The Timed Up and Go Test (TUG) assesses mobility, balance, walking ability, and fall risk in older adults. This is recorded in minutes:seconds.

Setup: The person sits in a standard armchair. Instructions: On the command "Go," the person stands up, walks 3 meters (about 10 feet) at a comfortable pace, turns around, walks back to the chair, and sits down.

Timing: The time taken from the command "Go" until the person sits back down is recorded. This is recorded in minutes:seconds.

Scoring Normal Mobility: Completing the test in less than 10 seconds. Mild Mobility Impairment: Completing the test in 10-19 seconds. Moderate Mobility Impairment: Completing the test in 20-29 seconds. Severe Mobility Impairment: Taking 30 seconds or more to complete the test. A time of 12 seconds or more indicates a higher risk of falling.
6 weeks post-operatively
Timed Up and Go Test - 3 months
Time Frame: 3 months post-operatively

The Timed Up and Go Test (TUG) assesses mobility, balance, walking ability, and fall risk in older adults. This is recorded in minutes:seconds.

Setup: The person sits in a standard armchair. Instructions: On the command "Go," the person stands up, walks 3 meters (about 10 feet) at a comfortable pace, turns around, walks back to the chair, and sits down.

Timing: The time taken from the command "Go" until the person sits back down is recorded. This is recorded in minutes:seconds.

Scoring Normal Mobility: Completing the test in less than 10 seconds. Mild Mobility Impairment: Completing the test in 10-19 seconds. Moderate Mobility Impairment: Completing the test in 20-29 seconds. Severe Mobility Impairment: Taking 30 seconds or more to complete the test. A time of 12 seconds or more indicates a higher risk of falling.
3 months post-operatively
Timed Up and Go Test - 6 months
Time Frame: 6 months post-operatively

The Timed Up and Go Test (TUG) assesses mobility, balance, walking ability, and fall risk in older adults. This is recorded in minutes:seconds.

Setup: The person sits in a standard armchair. Instructions: On the command "Go," the person stands up, walks 3 meters (about 10 feet) at a comfortable pace, turns around, walks back to the chair, and sits down.

Timing: The time taken from the command "Go" until the person sits back down is recorded. This is recorded in minutes:seconds.

Scoring Normal Mobility: Completing the test in less than 10 seconds. Mild Mobility Impairment: Completing the test in 10-19 seconds. Moderate Mobility Impairment: Completing the test in 20-29 seconds. Severe Mobility Impairment: Taking 30 seconds or more to complete the test. A time of 12 seconds or more indicates a higher risk of falling.
6 months post-operatively
Timed Up and Go Test - 12 months
Time Frame: 12 months post-operatively

The Timed Up and Go Test (TUG) assesses mobility, balance, walking ability, and fall risk in older adults. This is recorded in minutes:seconds.

Setup: The person sits in a standard armchair. Instructions: On the command "Go," the person stands up, walks 3 meters (about 10 feet) at a comfortable pace, turns around, walks back to the chair, and sits down.

Timing: The time taken from the command "Go" until the person sits back down is recorded. This is recorded in minutes:seconds.

Scoring Normal Mobility: Completing the test in less than 10 seconds. Mild Mobility Impairment: Completing the test in 10-19 seconds. Moderate Mobility Impairment: Completing the test in 20-29 seconds. Severe Mobility Impairment: Taking 30 seconds or more to complete the test. A time of 12 seconds or more indicates a higher risk of falling.
12 months post-operatively

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
10-Step Tandem Gait Test - Baseline
Time Frame: Baseline

Establish a baseline score. The 10-Step Tandem Gait Test asks participants to walk a straight line making a toe-to-heal touch with each step at the subject's own velocity. The number of steps made before the first misstep is counted. After first 10-step tandem gait test, the subject turns around and repeats the tandem gait test in the same line and the number of steps is counted in the same manner. This is a graded score from 0-4. The higher grade demonstrates better gait.

Scoring Grade 4: Completes all 10 steps without any instability. Grade 3: Completes 8-9 steps with minimal instability. Grade 2: Completes 6-7 steps with moderate instability. Grade 1: Completes 4-5 steps with significant instability. Grade 0: Completes fewer than 4 steps or is unable to perform the test due to severe instability.
Baseline
10-Step Tandem Gait Test - 6 weeks
Time Frame: 6 weeks post-operatively

The 10-Step Tandem Gait Test asks participants to walk a straight line making a toe-to-heal touch with each step at the subject's own velocity. The number of steps made before the first misstep is counted. After first 10-step tandem gait test, the subject turns around and repeats the tandem gait test in the same line and the number of steps is counted in the same manner. This is a graded score from 0-4. The higher grade demonstrates better gait.

Scoring Grade 4: Completes all 10 steps without any instability. Grade 3: Completes 8-9 steps with minimal instability. Grade 2: Completes 6-7 steps with moderate instability. Grade 1: Completes 4-5 steps with significant instability. Grade 0: Completes fewer than 4 steps or is unable to perform the test due to severe instability.
6 weeks post-operatively
10-Step Tandem Gait Test - 3 months
Time Frame: 3 months post-operatively

The 10-Step Tandem Gait Test asks participants to walk a straight line making a toe-to-heal touch with each step at the subject's own velocity. The number of steps made before the first misstep is counted. After first 10-step tandem gait test, the subject turns around and repeats the tandem gait test in the same line and the number of steps is counted in the same manner. This is a graded score from 0-4. The higher grade demonstrates better gait.

Scoring Grade 4: Completes all 10 steps without any instability. Grade 3: Completes 8-9 steps with minimal instability. Grade 2: Completes 6-7 steps with moderate instability. Grade 1: Completes 4-5 steps with significant instability. Grade 0: Completes fewer than 4 steps or is unable to perform the test due to severe instability.
3 months post-operatively
10-Step Tandem Gait Test - 6 months
Time Frame: 6 months post-operatively

The 10-Step Tandem Gait Test asks participants to walk a straight line making a toe-to-heal touch with each step at the subject's own velocity. The number of steps made before the first misstep is counted. After first 10-step tandem gait test, the subject turns around and repeats the tandem gait test in the same line and the number of steps is counted in the same manner. This is a graded score from 0-4. The higher grade demonstrates better gait.

Scoring Grade 4: Completes all 10 steps without any instability. Grade 3: Completes 8-9 steps with minimal instability. Grade 2: Completes 6-7 steps with moderate instability. Grade 1: Completes 4-5 steps with significant instability. Grade 0: Completes fewer than 4 steps or is unable to perform the test due to severe instability.
6 months post-operatively
10-Step Tandem Gait Test - 12 Month
Time Frame: 12 months post-operatively

The 10-Step Tandem Gait Test asks participants to walk a straight line making a toe-to-heal touch with each step at the subject's own velocity. The number of steps made before the first misstep is counted. After first 10-step tandem gait test, the subject turns around and repeats the tandem gait test in the same line and the number of steps is counted in the same manner. This is a graded score from 0-4. The higher grade demonstrates better gait.

Scoring Grade 4: Completes all 10 steps without any instability. Grade 3: Completes 8-9 steps with minimal instability. Grade 2: Completes 6-7 steps with moderate instability. Grade 1: Completes 4-5 steps with significant instability. Grade 0: Completes fewer than 4 steps or is unable to perform the test due to severe instability.
12 months post-operatively

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

West Virginia University

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: Scott Daffner, MD, West Virginia University School of Medicine, Department of Orthopaedics
  • Study Director: Andrya Durr, PhD, West Virginia University School of Public Health

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

General Publications

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Estimated)

December 1, 2026

Primary Completion (Estimated)

December 1, 2027

Study Completion (Estimated)

July 1, 2028

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

March 12, 2025

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

March 12, 2025

First Posted (Actual)

March 14, 2025

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

April 15, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

April 10, 2026

Last Verified

April 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • 2409042637

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

product manufactured in and exported from the U.S.

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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