CompletedNCT00611481Updated Oct 12, 2011

Study of Tai Chi Exercise and Balance in Persons With Parkinson's Disease

A Phase 2 interventional study of Tai Chi and Strength training in Parkinson's Disease, sponsored by Oregon Research Institute. Completed at 1 site in United States. Open to participants aged 40 Years to 85 Years. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2011-10-12.

Sponsored by Oregon Research Institute · Phase 2, Interventional, and Treatment

Phase: Phase 2
Study type: Interventional
Enrollment: 195
Allocation: Randomized
Ages: 40 Years to 85 Years
Sex: All

Study summary

Patients practicing Tai Chi will exhibit significant improvements in primary outcome measures of balance, and secondary outcomes of gait, physical performance, Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale, Falls, muscle strength.

Read the detailed description

The study is designed to determine the effects of Tai Chi training on balance and other functional outcomes in persons with Parkinson's disease.

Conditions studied

Parkinson's Disease

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Parkinson Disease 4,484

In context

Parkinson Disease

4,484 studies on the registry are indexed under Parkinson Disease; 1,081 are open to participants now.

This study's enrollment of 195 is above the median of 40 across 3,293 interventional studies indexed under Parkinson Disease.

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Lead sponsor

Oregon Research Institute is the lead sponsor of 70 studies on the registry; 5 are open to participants now.

Counted across the registry records on this site, refreshed daily.

Who can participate

Ages eligible: 40 Years to 85 Years
Sexes eligible: All
Accepts healthy volunteers: No

Inclusion criteria

Patients who have:

A diagnosis of idiopathic PD, with a disease severity rating of stage I to IV on the Hoehn and Yahr scale (Hoehn \& Yahr, 1967)
At least 1 score of 2 or more for at least 1 limb for either the tremor, rigidity, or bradykinesia item of the Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS)
Stable medication usage
Not participated in a structured exercise program (i.e., not involved in any routine, organized physical activity program lasting 30 minutes or more per day, such as a gym program or regularly scheduled instructor-led exercise class) in the previous 2 months
Ability to stand unaided or walk independently; had a personal physician's or neurologist's clearance for participation; and had a willingness to be assigned to intervention conditions.

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion Criteria:

Patients who:

Participate in any other behavioral or pharmacological research study
Have cognitive decline (Mini-Mental State Examination score, ≤ 24) (Folstein et al., 1975)
Have self-reported diagnosis of Alzheimer disease or other severe neurological (stage III and IV PD)
Have evidence of progressive or debilitating conditions (metastatic cancer, severe heart or lung disease, crippling arthritis) or severe losses in vision and hearing that would limit their tolerance to testing and training procedures, that would interfere with study participation
Are unavailable during the study period.

Study design

Phase: Phase 2
Primary purpose: Treatment
Allocation: Randomized
Intervention model: Parallel assignment
Masking: Double (Investigator, Outcomes assessor)
Enrollment: 195 participants (actual)

Study arms

Experimental
Tai Chi
Behavioral: Tai Chi
Active comparator
B. Strength training
Behavioral: Strength training
Other
C. Low-Impact
Behavioral: Low-Impact Exercise Control

Interventions

BehavioralTai Chi
a set of pre-designed Tai Chi Movements
BehavioralStrength training
Lower-extremity strength training exercises
BehavioralLow-Impact Exercise Control
a set of chair-based low-impact exercises

What researchers measure

Primary outcomes

Balance
Time frame: 3 time points

Secondary outcomes

gait, physical performance, Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale, falls, Muscle strength
Time frame: 3 time points

Study locations

1 site

Oregon Research Institute
Eugene, Oregon 97403, United States

References and documents

Publications

Li F, Harmer P. Economic Evaluation of a Tai Ji Quan Intervention to Reduce Falls in People With Parkinson Disease, Oregon, 2008-2011. Prev Chronic Dis. 2015 Jul 30;12:E120. doi: 10.5888/pcd12.140413. PubMed 26226067 ↗
Li F, Harmer P, Fitzgerald K, Eckstrom E, Stock R, Galver J, Maddalozzo G, Batya SS. Tai chi and postural stability in patients with Parkinson's disease. N Engl J Med. 2012 Feb 9;366(6):511-9. doi: 10.1056/NEJMoa1107911. PubMed 22316445 ↗

Updates

Tracking since Sep 25, 2026

No changes since tracking began. The registry record was last updated on Oct 12, 2011, before this site started recording changes on Sep 25, 2026. Its history is on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

Registry details

Key details

Study ID: NCT00611481
Lead sponsor: Oregon Research Institute
Collaborators: National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS)
Responsible party: Sponsor
First posted: Feb 11, 2008
Start date: Oct 2008
Primary completion: May 2011
Completion: Aug 2011
Last update: Oct 12, 2011

Study contacts

Fuzhong Li, Ph.D.

principal investigator · Oregon Research Institute

Oversight

Data monitoring committee: Yes

View the source record on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

Not currently enrolling

This study is completed, as verified in Oct 2011. You cannot join it, but the record below documents what was studied.

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