Effectiveness of tai chi practice for non-specific chronic low back pain on retired athletes: a randomized controlled study

Objective: To determine whether tai chi practice is superior to other means of sports rehabilitation to relieve non-specific chronic low back pain [LBP] in a younger population. Methods: We randomized 320 retired athletes [aged 37.6 +/- 5.4 years, 60.0 percent men] with chronic LBP [visual analog scale >= 40 mm] into treatment [tai chi practice] and control groups. At the beginning, middle, and end of a six-month intervention, patients from both treatment and control groups completed questionnaires assessing the intensity of LBP, and a systematic physical examination was arranged to evaluate participants' health condition. The results were analyzed by one way analysis of variance using statistical software SPSS 17.0. Differences were considered significant if P < 0.05. Results: After three and six months, no statistically significant difference in the intensity of LBP was demonstrated between the tai chi and swimming groups; significant differences were demonstrated among the tai chi and backward walking, jogging, and no exercise groups. Conclusions: Tai chi has better efficacy than certain other sports on the treatment of non-specific chronic LBP.