Meta-Analysis of Tai Chi Chuan in Treating Lumbar Spondylosis and Back Pain

BACKGROUND: The effectiveness of Tai Chi Chuan in treating various ailments has been well reported; however, its effect on back pain and lumbar spondylosis remains unclear. METHODS: We performed this meta-analysis under the guidelines of the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA), and the research-associated search was performed over the provided databases: Embase, Cochrane Library, Web of Science, PubMed, Scopus, and CINAHL in the period of 2008 to 2016, to recognize the related studies. We used the Physiotherapy Evidence Database (PEDro) scale to measure the standard of the involved randomized control trials (RCTs). The accumulated outcomes with parameters of weighted mean difference (WMD) and confidence level (CI) of 95% were evaluated to discover the influence of Tai Chi over pain as well as dysfunction among the patients suffering from pain depending on the outcome model. RESULTS: Seven eligible studies with a total of 296 participants were identified that met inclusion criteria for the systematic review; in the forest plot analysis, it was noted that for 95% CI, the standardized mean difference found to be -1.58 (-1.79, -1.38) with the heterogeneity of 87%, thereby favoring Tai Chi over the control group; a comparison was drawn for Tai Chi with routine therapy against the routine therapy alone, where 95% CI for -1.22 [-1.47, -0.97] is observed for I(2) = 0% for the overall effect Z = 9.42 (P < 0.00001); pain intensity of Tai Chi was compared with the control group, where 95% CI for -1.62 [-2.09, -1.14] was observed for Z = 6.69 (P < 0.00001). The forest plot subgroup analysis of Tai Chi was compared with the control group for an unchanged lifestyle, where 95% CI for -2.26 [-2.61, -1.91] was observed for Z = 12.76 (P < 0.00001). CONCLUSION: Our results indicate that Tai Chi individually or with additional treatment along with routine physical exercises might reduce the pain and functional disorders for the patients suffering from back pain.