IntroductionTai Chi has proved to be an effective therapy for balance performance and cognition. However, non-consistency exists in the results of the effect of Tai Chi training on standing balance control in older adults. This study aimed to use traditional and non-traditional methods to investigate the effect of Tai Chi on standing balance in older adults.MethodsThirty-six Tai Chi practitioners (TC group) and thirty-six older adults with no Tai Chi practice (control group) were recruited in this study. A Nintendo Wii Balance Board was used to record the center of pressure (COP) during standing balance over 20 s in the condition of eyes closed with three repetitions. The wavelet analysis, multiscale entropy, recurrence quantification analysis, and traditional methods were used to evaluate the standing balance control in the anterior-posterior (AP) and mediolateral (ML) directions.Results(1) Greater sway mean velocity in the AP direction and sway Path length were found in the TC group compared with the control group; (2) lower Very-low frequency band (0.10–0.39 Hz) and higher Moderate frequency band (1.56–6.25 Hz) in the AP and ML directions were found in the TC group compared with the control group; (3) greater complexity index (CI) and lower determinism (DET) in the AP and ML directions were observed in the TC group compared with control group; (4) greater path length linked with smaller Very-low frequency band in the AP and ML directions and higher Moderate frequency band in the AP direction in both groups; (5) greater path length linked with lower DET and higher CI in the AP direction only in the TC group.ConclusionLong-term Tai Chi practice improved sensory reweighting (more reliance on the proprioception system and less reliance on the vestibular system) and complexity of standing balance control in older adults. In addition, greater sway velocity may be as an exploratory role in standing balance control of TC older adults, which correlated with greater complexity, but no such significant relationship in the control group. Therefore, the effects of Tai Chi practice on standing balance control in older adults may be attributed to the improvement of sensory reweighting and complexity rather than reduced sway velocity or amplitude.

中文翻译：

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太极拳对老年人站立平衡控制的影响可能归因于感觉重重和复杂性的改善，而不是摇摆速度或幅度的降低

简介太极拳已被证明是平衡表现和认知的有效疗法。然而，太极拳训练对老年人站立平衡控制的影响结果存在不一致。本研究旨在采用传统和非传统方法探讨太极拳对老年人站立平衡的影响。方法36名太极拳练习者（TC组）和36名未练习太极拳的老年人（对照组）被招募参与这项研究。使用任天堂 Wii 平衡板记录闭眼状态下站立平衡超过 20 秒时的压力中心 (COP)，重复 3 次。采用小波分析、多尺度熵、递归量化分析和传统方法对前后（AP）和中外侧（ML）方向的站立平衡控制进行评估。结果（1）AP方向和中侧方向的较大摇摆平均速度和TC组与对照组相比，发现摇摆路径长度； （2）与对照组相比，TC组AP和ML方向的极低频段（0.10~0.39 Hz）较低，中频段（1.56~6.25 Hz）较高； (3)与对照组相比，TC组在AP和ML方向上观察到更大的复杂性指数(CI)和更低的确定性(DET)； (4)较大的路径长度与两组中AP和ML方向上较小的甚低频带以及AP方向上较高的中频带相关联； (5) 仅在 TC 组中，更大的路径长度与 AP 方向的较低 DET 和较高 CI 相关。结论 长期太极拳练习改善了感觉重新加权（更多地依赖本体感觉系统，更少地依赖前庭系统）和复杂性老年人的站立平衡控制。此外，较大的摇摆速度可能在 TC 老年人的站立平衡控制中具有探索性作用，这与更大的复杂性相关，但在对照组中没有这种显着关系。因此，太极拳练习对老年人站立平衡控制的影响可能归因于感觉重重和复杂性的改善，而不是摇摆速度或幅度的降低。