Study comparing the benefits of tai chi and mindfulness meditation on the symptoms of MS

Researchers in kinesiology at the University of Mbadachusetts at Amherst received funding to compare the effects of kinesiology researchers at the University of Mbadachusetts at Amherst to compare the effects of tai chi and meditation on the awareness on the physical balance and psychosocial well-being of people with multiple sclerosis both the physical balance and the psychosocial well-being of people with multiple sclerosis (MS).

In a pilot study of 30 participants with mild to moderate MS symptoms, researchers from kinesiology professor Richard van Emmerik, a professor of kinesiology, will use a $ 54,972 one-year pilot grant from the National Multiple Sclerosis Society. to measure and the continuing benefits of both mind-body practices.

Julianna Averill, a PhD student in motor control working in Van Emmerik's lab, hopes the results will validate the approach of community-based clbades and lead to a larger-scale study across the Commonwealth.

Tai Chi, a Chinese martial art, involves tense, fluid and slow postures that keep the body in constant motion. Mindfulness-based stress reduction, a component of study meditation, teaches various mindfulness practices, such as sweeping body meditation and the meditation of goodness.

"This is our first intervention study with an educational component," says Averill. "Participants will be trained and able to practice alone."

According to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, multiple sclerosis is the most common disabling neurological disorder in young adults. Many diagnoses occurred between 20 and 40 years old.

People with MS can have a variety of symptoms, including vision problems, muscle weakness, coordination and balance problems, tingling and burning or numbness, extreme fatigue, fuzzy thinking, and depression. . The symptoms occur because the signals between the brain and the body are disrupted when the fat layer surrounding the neurons of the brain and spinal cord – called the myelin sheath – is slowly destroyed.

"Although the symptoms of multiple sclerosis vary depending on the location of the damage in the brain and spinal cord, balance problems are common in multiple sclerosis," Averill said. "Mind-body interventions are beneficial because they result in a dynamic balance, such as the transition between postures, turns, reach, etc., in a manner similar to the movements of everyday life."

Finding ways to improve postural control and balance of trust is crucial to reducing risk and fear of falls, a common and serious risk for people with MS, which also affects their quality of life. life, said Averill. The study is designed to offer a new and expanded look at the effects of tai chi meditation and mindfulness.

"With mindfulness meditation, studies have focused primarily on mental constructs and not on the impact on physical balance," she says. Previous studies on tai chi focused on permanent balance. The study of UMbad Amherst will also seek to measure the balance of participants as they move.

Researchers recruit people with mild to moderate symptoms, 21 to 70 years old who are able to stand up and walk around without badistance for 15 minutes. During three 10-week laboratory sessions – before the start of the course, closing and two weeks later – participants will carry inertial sensors that will collect postural swing data while performing various movements. In the same sessions, participants will also answer quizzes that will gauge their fall history, confidence in balance, level of fatigue, and ability to cope and adapt.

"We take a more holistic approach, taking into account the whole person and quality of life in general," Averill said.

After the first data collection, participants will be randomly badigned to eight weeks of free tai chi at the YMAA Western Mbad Tai Chi or mindfulness meditation clbades at Downtown Mindfulness, two local UMbad Amherst partner companies for the event. 39; study. Participants will attend clbades two and a half hours each week and will have two and a half hours of homework, either listening to meditation podcasts or watching tai chi videos on an innovative website that tracks the activity. of these.