Can Tai Chi be used to fight COVID-19? For instance, can it help us avoid a severe case, or speed up our recovery, while avoiding any complications?
Some might think that tai chi is not a medication so it cannot possibly help. And yet, tai chi has been and is being used to help patients recover from COVID. Yes, I literally mean tai chi being practiced within hospitals, often taught by the doctors or nurses themselves! Here below a doctor in hazmat suit teaches tai chi to a patient who is recovering from coronavirus, seemingly in Wuhan, China
And again in Wuhan, a hospital tai chi class run by the nurses of the COVID ward:
OK so the Chinese are using tai chi. Big deal: it originates from there. But it is being used elsewhere too
One such example is that of the Krylatskoye Ice Palace in Moscow (which has been converted into a temporary hospital). Here, Alexander Aliev works as a doctor and Tai Chi instructor. He says [3]:
“The movements improve the ventilation and drainage of patients’ lungs.”
“We are using methods developed in fighting tuberculosis and other lung diseases here at the ice palace. We are using Tai Chi breathing exercises, which, along with health aids allows us to speed up the rehabilitation of the patients, to minimize the number of complications during the healing process and complications which might remain after.”
Can Tai Chi Help PREVENT COVID?
How would this work? From a TCM perspective, Tai chi increases the amount of chi and boosts its “flow” around the body to promote optimal health (OK this is a great simplification for the benefit of newbies).
From a Western perspective, we notice that tai chi is soothing, reduces stress, improves sleep and helps boost the immune system – all of which should help our bodies prevent (and fight) disease.
And TCM practitioners certainly seem to think so… youtube lists several videos where TCM medical staff practice tai chi to prevent respiratory diseases during coronavirus outbreak [4]. They seem to be practicing either before work or during breaks at work.
Does Tai Chi Help the Lungs Specifically?
A 2016 Cochrane Review Tai Chi for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) [5], comparing Tai Chi with usual care, reported that Tai Chi demonstrated better functional capacity (i.e. people able to walk farther) and improved pulmonary function compared with patients undergoing usual care.
While COVID is NOT COPD, both are conditions that manifest with breathing difficulty. We have also already seen [4] that Chinese medical staff practice tai chi to strengthen themselves against respiratory diseases including COVID.
Where is the science?
A search on google highlighted the existence of several protocols to determine the effect of tai chi practice with regards to various conditions, starting with the most relevant: COVID:
Tai Chi for the elderly patients with COVID-19 in recovery period: A protocol for systematic review and meta-analysis
Zhu, Xiangyu; Luo, Ziyu; Chen, Ying; Medicine, 100(3):e24111, January 22, 2021
The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak has caused a great impact in many countries. Older people are more susceptible to the virus than other people. As a good health exercise suitable for the elderly, Tai Chi has a positive impact on heart function, blood pressure, lung function, immunity, etc. It can enhance cardiopulmonary function, increase the elasticity of blood vessels, and improve the body’s self-regulation function. For the elder patients with COVID-19, Tai Chi has outstanding merits.
This proposed study will evaluate the effectiveness and safety of Tai Chi for the improvement of psychological pressure, cardiopulmonary function, and immunity in elderly COVID-19 patients during the recovery period.
The effect of Tai Chi practice on immunological function in cancer survivors – Medicine (of interest, as it would point to an improvement in immune function relevant to COVID too)
Tai chi for type 2 diabetes mellitus: a protocol for systematic review. Diabetes is a chronic condition that is correlated with worse COVID outcomes.
While we welcome these and further studies, the proof is in the pudding: tai chi has and is being used for respiratory conditions and COVID: it will not hurt to follow the example of doctors and nurses in Wuhan and elsewhere and practice tai chi to optimise your health in general, lung health and to help recover from COVID.
RESOURCES
[1] Tai chi to recover from COVID in Wuhan hospital – https://youtu.be/lRvvBQefXm8
[2] Tai chi class run by nurses at Wuhan hospital – https://youtu.be/JnbjACXp-SE
[3] Tai Chi to Recover From COVID – Ice Palace, Moscow – https://youtu.be/T6rE8EGFuL4
[4] Tai Chi practiced by medical staff to prevent respiratory diseases during coronavirus outbreak – https://youtu.be/WmRtws6xQZ4
[5] 2016 Cochrane Review (Tai Chi and COPD) – https://www.cochrane.org/CD009953/AIRWAYS_tai-chi-chronic-obstructive-pulmonary-disease-copd