Seated Tai Chi Improves Dynamic Finger Pointing Task and Sitting Balance Control in Subjects With Parkinson's Disease

April 8, 2025 updated by: The Hong Kong Polytechnic University

Seated Tai Chi Improves Dynamic Finger Pointing Task and Sitting Balance Control in Subjects With Parkinson's Disease: A Prospective Study

The goal of this prospective study is to investigate the effects of 3 months seated Tai Chi (TC) practice on the eye-hand coordination and sitting balance control of subjects with Parkinson's disease. The main objective it aims to answer are the effects of seated TC training on:

  • Shoulder joint range of motion;
  • Eye-hand coordination;
  • Dynamic sitting balance control; and
  • Quality of life in individuals with Parkinson's disease

Researchers compared seated TC training with a control group to see if it improved the aforementioned outcomes.

Participants completed:

  • 3-month TC training of 24 sessions in total
  • two sessions per week and each session lasted for 1-hour
  • went on with their usual physical activities and routines outside the training

Study Overview

Status

Completed

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

56

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 Locations

  • Hong Kong
      • Hong Kong, Hong Kong, 999077
        • Hong Kong Metropolitan University

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

  • Child
  • Adult
  • Older Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Confirmed diagnosis of Parkinson's disease (PD)
  • Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) scored over 24
  • Individuals with mobility levels suitable for participation in seated TC

Exclusion Criteria:

-

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: Treatment
  • Allocation: Non-Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: Single

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Seated TC
Type of intervention: 12-form Yang-style seated Tai Chi routine23 under the supervision and guidance of a certified Tai Chi master Duration: 3 months (24 sessions in total) Frequency: 2 sessions per week, 1 hour per session
Behavioral: Seated TC
3-month seated Tai Chi training (24 sessions in total) given to Parkinson's disease patients
No Intervention: Control
Control group continued with their usual daily routines and activities

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Shoulder mobility
Time Frame: Immediate after 3-month training period
Shoulder flexion range of motion
Immediate after 3-month training period
Eye-Hand Coordination Test
Time Frame: Immediate after 3-month training period
Reaction time, movement time, accuracy
Immediate after 3-month training period
Dynamic sitting balance
Time Frame: Immediate after 3-month training period
Participants were assessed using the Sequential Weight Shifting Test where they were seated on a force platform equipped with four load cells capable of measuring forces ranging from 40 to 400 pounds to calculate their accuracy of centre of pressure shifts during the test
Immediate after 3-month training period
Quality of life of Parkinson's disease patients
Time Frame: Immediate after 3-month training period
Parkinson's Disease Questionnaire-39 (PDQ-39)
Immediate after 3-month training period

Collaborators and Investigators

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

Sponsor

The Hong Kong Polytechnic University

Collaborators

Hong Kong Metropolitan University

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: William Wai Nam Tsang, PhD, Hong Kong Metropolitan University

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 (Actual)

October 29, 2018

Primary Completion (Actual)

July 15, 2019

Study Completion (Actual)

September 30, 2020

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

April 8, 2025

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

April 8, 2025

First Posted (Actual)

April 15, 2025

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

April 15, 2025

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

April 8, 2025

Last Verified

April 1, 2025

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • No.2019/1002

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

IPD Plan Description

Data is available on reasonable request

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

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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