The C.A.M. Report
Complementary and Alternative Medicine: Fair, Balanced, and to the Point
  • About this web log

    This blog ran from 2006 to 2016 and was intended as an objective and dispassionate source of information on the latest CAM research. Since my background is in pharmacy and allopathic medicine, I view all CAM as advancing through the development pipeline to eventually become integrated into mainstream medical practice. Some will succeed while others fail. But all are treated fairly here.

  • About the author

    John Russo, Jr., PharmD, is president of The MedCom Resource, Inc. Previously, he was senior vice president of medical communications at www.Vicus.com, a complementary and alternative medicine website.

  • Common sense considerations

    The material on this weblog is for informational purposes. It is not medical advice or counsel. Be smart, consult your health professional before using CAM.

  • Recent Posts

  • Recent Comments

    Review: Tai chi for chronic musculoskeletal pain

    Tai-Chi-SymbolResearchers from The University of Sydney, Sydney, in Australia reviewed the literature.

    First, the details.

    • 7 studies were selected for review.
      • 6 studied people with chronic arthritis.
      • 1 studied people with chronic tension headaches.
    • The studies were generally small and of low quality.

    And, the results.

    • Improvement using a 0-100 point scale was 10 points for pain reduction and 10 for disability reduction.
    • Additionally, physical performance and health-related quality of life favored tai chi; however, significant changes were limited to improved tension and satisfaction with general health.

    The bottom line?

    The authors tell us, “The available data on the effect of tai chi are sparse and derived principally from low-quality studies.”

    Based on these results, there appears to be a small positive effect on pain and disability in people with arthritis. The extent to which it benefits other forms of musculoskeletal pain is unclear.

    12/9/09 21:27 JR

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