Tai Chi May Help Prevent Shingles

Tai chi exercises may help prevent shingles, U.S. researchers reported.

Tests on 36 older men and women showed the combination of relaxation and movement used in tai chi boosted immunity to the virus that causes the painful outbreaks.

"Our findings offer a unique and exciting example of mind over matter," said Dr. Michael Irwin of the Neuropsychiatric Institute at the University of California Los Angeles.

The study, published in the September edition of the journal Psychosomatic Medicine, did not show whether tai chi practitioners were less likely to ever develop shingles.

Shingles affects people who had chickenpox when younger. The herpes virus that causes chickenpox, called varicella, lingers in the body, infecting nerve cells.

When immunity to the virus weakens, usually with age, it can cause painful blisters on the skin. The pain can be severe and can linger for years.

Irwin's team tested 36 men and women with an average age of 70. None had ever suffered an outbreak of shingles but all had once had chickenpox.

Half, or 18, took tai chi chih (TCC) courses for 45 minutes three days a week, while the rest did nothing extra.

"TCC is a westernized version of Tai Chi Chuan, an exercise form that has existed as a martial art in the Chinese culture for 2000 years and as an exercise for elderly people for around 300 years," the researchers wrote.

Tai chi consists of slow and precise movements that include coordinated breathing.

Fifteen weeks later, the researchers tested their immune systems and also their general physical condition.

Those who had done tai chi not only felt healthier, but had a boost of up to 50 percent of immune system cells called memory T-cells that are specifically guided to recognize and attack varicella.

"A large body of research shows how behavior can negatively affect the immune system and health, but ours is the first randomized, controlled study to demonstrate that behavior can have a positive effect on immunity that protects against shingles," Irwin said.

Reference Source 89

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