Fibromyalgia syndrome (FMS) is a debilitating and chronic condition with an array of symptoms, the most distinguishable being widespread pain. FMS patients experience a marked decrease in quality of life related to intensity of symptoms. Current treatment options and pharmaceuticals do not provide adequate relief. This thesis examines integrative and complementary therapy options for symptom management and improvement of quality of life for FMS patients. A literature review was conducted of English current research using multiple databases. Findings indicate mindful movement therapies (MMT) such as yoga and tai chi, mindfulness, sensory-related relaxation techniques with guided imagery, and cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) provided some relief and increased in perceived quality of life (QoL).

La danza de las nieves del tai chi pö tibetano es una danza milenaria oriental con influencia de las artes marciales chinas y tibetanas, una herramienta que confiere un entrenamiento dramático corporal, mental y espiritual actoral para construir un cuerpo nuevo. Por ello, se entabló la conexión de los estudios de Jerzy Grotowski, Eugenio Barba & Nicola Savaresse, y Antunes Filho sobre el trabajo del actor sobre sí mismo con los conceptos que componen al del tai chi desde la filosofía taoísta y tibetana, compartiendo ambos los principios de desequilibrio, oposición, respiración y energía como parte fundamental de la autoexploración y autoconocimiento en el entrenamiento actoral para construir un cuerpo nuevo. Siendo que el principio de oposición trabaja las posibilidades conflicto en el cuerpo y el desequilibrio trabaja las posibilidades de las tensiones, las cuales a través de la meditación se trabaja la conciencia a la atención de hacia dónde se dirige la energía para que el cuerpo se exprese con organicidad. En este sentido, la presente investigación parte del diseño de un laboratorio práctico frente al mar en el que un grupo de actores se sumergen a un entrenamiento individual, grupal y espacial desde la ejecución repetitiva de la meditación en movimiento. Por lo que, este entrenamiento permite desarrollar el drama en el cuerpo de los actores a partir de trascender sus propias limitaciones y explorar posibilidades para formar un repertorio corporal. Es así, que esta investigación teórico práctica se propone como una vía para contribuir a los actores en su preparación para la escena y como humanos.

La présente contribution à l'histoire de la réception des traditions d'arts martiaux chinois en Occident analyse la littérature populaire sur les arts martiaux chinois publiée en anglais et en français entre 1960 et 2006. Elle étudie entre autres comment les pratiquants occidentaux d'arts martiaux reçoivent une tradition étrangère, comment ils incorporent celle-ci à la culture occidentale, et comment ils donnent par là un sens à leur pratique. S'inspirant des théories de la réception dans le domaine de la littérature, cette recherche propose une approche de la réception d'une tradition culturelle dans le but de déterminer la signification de la pratique des arts martiaux chinois en Occident. Pour comprendre cette réception, où cette superposition de deux horizons culturels, il a fallu procéder à une analyse du contenu de près de trente livres portant sur le taiji quan (pour lire ces caractères chinois allez consulter le résumé en cliquant sur le lien URL en zone 856), l'art martial chinois actuellement le plus pratiqué sur la planète. L'analyse montre que les adeptes d'arts martiaux se construisent des stratégies discursives spécifiques pour interpréter et légitimer la pratique de leur art. Ce travail a permis de repérer dans ces livres cinq stratégies différentes utilisées par les adeptes pour convaincre que le taiji quan est d'abord un art à caractère spirituel répondant ainsi à des attentes typiquement occidentales. L'identification de ces stratégies permet de mieux comprendre les mécanismes herméneutiques qui se mettent en place à l'intérieur d'une communauté de pratiquants d'arts martiaux. Ces stratégies sont : (1) le recours aux récits mythiques et à l'histoire dans la construction de la tradition; (2) le recours à certains discours religieux et philosophiques comme fondement spirituel de la construction des systèmes d'arts martiaux chinois; (3) l'appel à la science occidentale comme explication ± rationnelle ¿ des arts martiaux chinois; (4) l'utilisation des arts martiaux chinois comme argument dans un discours contre-culturel; et (5) le recours à un discours holistique comme argument spirituel dans la pratique du taiji quan.

Background and Purpose: Tai Chi (TC) has been reported as beneficial for improving balance post stroke, yet its use for upper limb (UL) rehabilitation remains unknown. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the feasibility and efficacy of TC on UL rehabilitation post stroke. Methods: Twelve chronic stroke survivors with a persistent paresis underwent 60-minute adapted TC sessions twice a week for eight weeks and a 4-week follow-up evaluation. A 10-minute TC home program was recommended for the days without sessions. TC level of performance, adapted movements used, attendance to the sessions and duration of self-practice at home were recorded. Shoulder pain (Visual Analogue Scale (VAS)), motor function of the paretic arm ((Fugl-Meyer Assessment upper-limb section (FMA-UL), Wolf Motor Function Test (WMFT)) and paretic arm use in daily life (Motor Activity Log (MAL)) were measured at baseline, post-treatment and follow-up. A feedback questionnaire was used to evaluate participants’ perception of the use of TC at follow-up. Results: Eleven participants completed the 8-week study. A clinical reasoning algorithm underlying the adaptation of TC was developed based on different functional levels of the participants. Participants with varying profiles including severely impaired UL, poor balance, shoulder pain, and severe spasticity were not only capable of practicing the adapted TC but attended all 16 sessions and practiced TC at home more than recommended (a total of 16.51±9.21 hours). The self-practice amount for subgroups with lower UL function, shoulder pain or moderate-to-severe spasticity, was similar to subgroups with higher functional UL, no shoulder pain, and minimal-to-no spasticity. Participants demonstrated significant improvement over time in the FMA-UL (p=.009), WMFT functional scale (p=.003), WMFT performance time (p=.048) and MAL Amount of Use scale (p=.02). Shoulder pain of four participants decreased following TC (VAS 5.5±3, 3±2.8, 2.5±2.5 for the pre, post and follow-up period respectively). Moreover, participants confirmed the usefulness and ease of practicing the adapted TC. Conclusion: Adapted TC is feasible, acceptable and effective for UL rehabilitation post stroke. Low UL function, insufficient balance, spasticity, and shoulder pain do not seem to hinder practicing TC. Further large-scale randomized trials evaluating TC for UL rehabilitation are warranted. / Contexte et objectifs: Le Tai Chi (TC) a été rapporté comme bénéfique pour améliorer l'équilibre suite à un accident vasculaire cérébral (AVC), mais son utilisation pour la réadaptation du membre supérieur reste inconnue. Le but de cette étude était d’évaluer la faisabilité et l'efficacité du TC pour la réadaptation du membre supérieur post-AVC. Méthode: Douze personnes ayant un AVC en phase chronique avec une parésie persistante ont participé à des sessions de 60 minutes de TC adaptées deux fois par semaine pendant 8 semaines et au suivi à 12 semaines. Un programme à domicile de 10 minutes de TC a été recommandé pour les jours sans session. Le niveau de performance du TC, les mouvements adaptés utilisés, la participation aux sessions et la durée de pratique à domicile ont été documentés. La douleur à l’épaule (Visual Analogue Scale (VAS)), la fonction motrice du bras parétique ((Fugl-Meyer Assessment upper-limb section (FMA-UL), Wolf Motor Function Test (WMFT)) et l'utilisation du bras parétique dans la vie quotidienne (Motor Activity Log (MAL)) ont été mesurées au départ, après le traitement et au suivi (4 semaines post-traitement). Un questionnaire de rétroaction a été utilisé pour évaluer la perception des participants sur l'utilisation du TC lors du suivi. Résultats: Onze participants ont terminé l'étude de 8 semaines. Un algorithme de raisonnement clinique qui sous-tend l’adaptation du TC a été développé sur la base des niveaux fonctionnels des participants. Les participants ayant des profils différents, y compris le membre supérieur sévèrement atteint, l'équilibre atteint, de la douleur à l'épaule et de la spasticité sévère étaient non seulement capables de pratiquer le TC adapté, mais ont participé à l'ensemble des 16 sessions et pratiquaient le TC à la maison plus que recommandé (un total de 16.51 ± 9.21 heures). La quantité de pratique à domicile des sous-groupes avec la fonction inférieure du membre supérieur, de la douleur à l'épaule ou de la spasticité modérée-à-sévère, était similaire aux sous-groupes avec une fonction supérieure du membre supérieur, sans douleur à l'épaule et une spasticité minimale ou non-présente. Les participants ont montré une amélioration significative au fil du temps selon le FMA -UL (p=.009), l’échelle fonctionnelle du WMFT (p=.003), le temps de performance du WMFT (p=.048) et l’échelle du montant de l’utilisation du MAL (p=.02). La douleur à l'épaule des quatre participants a diminué suite au TC (VAS 5.5±3, 3±2.8, 2.5±2.5 pour la période de pré-traitement, post-traitement et suivi). En outre, les participants ont confirmé l'utilité et la facilité de la pratique du TC adapté. Conclusion: Le TC adapté est faisable, acceptable et efficace pour la réadaptation du membre supérieur après un AVC. Une fonction diminuée au membre supérieur, l’équilibre insuffisant, la spasticité et la douleur à l'épaule ne semblent pas empêcher la pratique du TC. Plus d’essais randomisés à grande échelle sont nécessaire pour évaluer l’effet du TC sur la réadaptation du membre supérieur.

TITLE Alternative rehabilitation methods in therapy of Parkinson's disease OBJECTIVE The aim of work is to assemble new findings relating the rehabilitation of people with Parkinson disease. Furthermore to elaborate these information in form of literature search to allow their use in common practice. METHODS Up till now there were accomplished many studies which dealt with less common ways of therapy, but didn't find use in common practice. In this work these studies will be presented (in form of literature search). This work will be divided into two parts, where the first will sum up the issue of Parkinson's disease and the second part will deal with the alternative methods. Into this part studies detecting effects of dance therapy, tai-chi, qigong, treadmill training and box on symptoms of Parkinson's disease were chosen. Besides that, in discussion I plan on mentioning conventional therapy (rehabilitation) in Parkinson's disease as well as some guidelines written up in the Czech Republic. KEY WORDS Parkinson's disease, rehabilitation, physiotherapy, dance, therapy, tai chi, taiji, treadmill, gait

Before the main study commenced, empirical work was conducted to establish and validate the Chinese version of the Satisfaction with the Nursing Home Instrument (SNHI-C), which was an instrument used to measure resident satisfaction in the main study. Testing was conducted on a cluster sample of 330 residents from 16 elderly residential care homes in Hong Kong. Findings demonstrated that the SNHI-C had good content validity with an index of .93. It also demonstrated high construct validity by having significant correlation with depression (r = -.42, p < .001), the physical component of health-related quality of life (r = .16, p < .05), the mental component of health-related quality of life (r = .41, p < .001), and global quality of care (r = .49, p < .001). The SNHI-C also demonstrated satisfactory internal consistency and good stability by having a Cronbach's alpha of .79 and intra-class correlation coefficient of .94, respectively. / Current study adds new knowledge to the psychosocial health benefits of Tai Chi for the residents living in elderly residential care homes. Findings were discussed in relation to previous research findings and in the context of elderly residential care setting. The present study has the strength of evaluating the health benefit of Tai Chi using a more stringent research design, in comparing with the previous studies. Limitations of this study included the use of convenience sampling, without random assigning participants into groups, and inadequacy in quantifying Tai Chi learning. The implications of the findings support incorporating Tai Chi training in routine elderly residential care. Based on the study experience, recommendations for a successful implementation of a Tai Chi program were provided. Future research is advised to further explore the most beneficial mode of a Tai Chi program particularly for the elderly residential care home residents. Evaluation of its effect over a longer period of time and using various approaches are also suggested for obtaining a more comprehensive picture of the health benefit of Tai Chi. Finally, it is also worthwhile to investigate the experience of practicing Tai Chi through a qualitative approach to complement present findings. / Like many areas in the world, Hong Kong is facing an aging population. To accommodate the increasing elderly population, particularly those who are frail and have limited family support, elderly residential care homes are growing in size and number. Despite of the escalating demand, it has been documented repeatedly that the nature of residential living can predispose the residents to a number of psychosocial challenges. Study findings highlight consistently that residents are prone to experience lowered self-esteem, poor social support, and poor health-related quality of life. Providing psychosocial support to the residents is an important dimension in elderly residential care. It is because older residents, despite of their deteriorating physical functions that cannot be cured, can still have the potential to live with optimum psychosocial well-being. Even though a number of interventions have been considered in the past to address the residents' psychosocial needs, evaluation on the effectiveness of these interventions is inconclusive. There is still a paucity of evidence suggesting a promising intervention that can promote psychosocial health for the residents. Given the general consensus that exercise is beneficial for the psychosocial health, and considering that the characteristics of Tai Chi are particularly suitable for the elderly population, Tai Chi is considered as a possible means to promote psychosocial health for the residents. This study aimed to examine the psychosocial effects of a Tai Chi program on the residents of the elderly residential care homes. / The main study adopted a non-equivalent pretest-posttest control group design to examine the psychosocial effect of Tai Chi on residents of elderly residential care homes. Residents were recruited from six elderly residential care homes in Hong Kong by convenience sampling. The experimental group (n = 66) joined a 26-week Tai Chi program three times per week with each session lasted for one hour. The control group (n = 73) continued their daily activities as usual. Outcome variables encompassing state self-esteem, the physical component of health-related quality of life, the mental component of health-related quality of life, social support network, and social support satisfaction were assessed at baseline, the 13th and 26th week of the intervention period. Doubly multivariate analysis of covariance was performed to examine the effect of the Tai Chi program. / With the confounding effect of resident satisfaction controlled, findings demonstrated that participants in the experimental group experienced greater improvement in the psychological composite outcome of state self-esteem, the physical component of health-related quality of life, and the mental component of health-related quality of life (p < .05). No significant changes were detected in any of the three individual psychological outcome variables. Non-significant result was also found regarding the social effect of Tai Chi program on the participants. / Lee Yin King. / "May 2006." / Advisers: Diana Lee; Jean Woo. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 68-03, Section: B, page: 1558. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2006. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 249-269). / Electronic reproduction. Hong Kong : Chinese University of Hong Kong, [2012] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web. / Electronic reproduction. [Ann Arbor, MI] : ProQuest Information and Learning, [200-] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web. / Abstracts in English and Chinese. / School code: 1307.

Chan, Wai Kiu. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2011. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 233-256). / Electronic reproduction. Hong Kong : Chinese University of Hong Kong, [2012] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web. / Abstract and appendix also in Chinese.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-04-27T18:47:31Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Leandro Assis Teixeira.pdf: 22670572 bytes, checksum: acd4b06d1b8c8d8e0a17ac183e1cfcea (MD5) Previous issue date: 2008-09-23 / This work sought to investigate the practice of Tai Chi Chuan among elderly people, based on their participation in open groups of health programs organized the municipality of Santo André, State of São Paulo, Brazil. In my experience as a teacher of Chinese martial arts, especially the Tai Chi Chuan, I noticed that in spite of being a Chinese millennial art, which encourages mental concentration and control of body movements, it performs a preventive action, reducing the effects of degenerative diseases and providing psychological welfare. Aging is, doubtless, a process of discoveries and transformations experienced in an orderly rhythm of facts. Physical activity can benefit people of all ages; it is especially important to elderly people health. The practice of Tai Chi Chuan develops physical and mental capacity so that the individual can have a long and healthy life. Thus, I attempted to transform a real situation that is close to me into an object of investigation and analysis. As a survey instrument of the quality-of-life profile, the SF36® Form was used (The Medical Outcomes Study: 36-Item Short Form Health Survey), translated and validated in Brazil by CICONELLI. This study did not intend to exhaust the subject of Tai Chi Chuan or the therapeutic techniques used during aging process but provide a new complementary view for health professionals. Thai Chi Chuan is a set of Chinese disciplinary exercises that seek harmony of body, mind and spirit / Este trabalho buscou investigar a prática de Tai Chi Chuan entre idosos, a partir da participação em grupos abertos, em programas de saúde realizados pela Prefeitura no município de Santo André SP. Em minha experiência como professor das artes corporais chinesas, em especial o Tai Chi Chuan, observei que apesar de ser uma arte marcial chinesa milenar, que encoraja a concentração mental e o controle dos movimentos corporais, a mesma atua como forma preventiva, minimizando os efeitos das doenças degenerativas e propiciando bem estar psicológico. O envelhecimento é, sem dúvida, um processo de descobertas e transformações vividas em um ritmo ordenado de acontecimentos. A atividade física é capaz de beneficiar pessoas de todos os grupos etários; ela é especialmente importante para a saúde dos idosos. A prática do Tai Chi Chuan desenvolve a capacidade física e mental do indivíduo, para que tenha uma vida longa e com saúde. Desta forma, procurei transformar uma realidade que me é próxima em objeto de investigação e análise. Como instrumento para avaliação do perfil da Qualidade de Vida, foi utilizado o Questionário SF36® (The Medical Outcomes Study 36-item Short Form Health Survey), traduzido e validado no Brasil por CICONELLI. O presente estudo não visou esgotar o assunto Tai Chi Chuan ou as técnicas terapêuticas, utilizadas durante o processo de envelhecimento, mas proporcionar uma nova visão complementar para os profissionais da área da saúde. O Tai Chi Chuan é um conjunto de exercícios disciplinares chineses, que visam a harmonia do corpo, da mente e do espírito

Hong Wai Lin. / "July 2004." / Thesis (Ph.D.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2004. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 181-211) / Electronic reproduction. Hong Kong : Chinese University of Hong Kong, [2012] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web. / Mode of access: World Wide Web. / Abstracts in English and Chinese.

Thesis (M.Sc.)--University of Alberta, 2010. / A thesis submitted to the Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Rehabilitation Science, Faculty of Rehabilitation Medicine. Title from pdf file main screen (viewed on February 16, 2010). Includes bibliographical references.