Back pain - tai chi

Christiane Fux studied journalism and psychology in Hamburg. The experienced medical editor has been writing magazine articles, news and factual texts on all conceivable health topics since 2001. In addition to her work for, Christiane Fux is also active in prose. Her first crime novel was published in 2012, and she also writes, designs and publishes her own crime plays.

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The gentle, flowing movements that are performed in tai chi can be very beneficial for back pain. Deep abdominal breathing, which is very important in this Asian body training, also has a positive effect: It counteracts stress and the painful tension associated with it. Read more about tai chi & back pain!

ICD codes for this disease: ICD codes are internationally recognized codes for medical diagnoses. They can be found, for example, in doctor's letters or on certificates of incapacity for work. M54

Shadow boxes in pictures

Tai-Chi-Chuan (also Taijiquan) or Tai-Chi (Taiji) for short was originally developed as a fighting style, but is now also used therapeutically, for example to relieve back pain. In contrast to Qigong, an art of movement that is also used for back pain, among other things, Tai Chi exercises are choreographically combined into forms: They consist of a certain sequence of body positions (images) that flow into one another.

The pictures have poetic names like "The crane spreads its wings" or "The lute are playing". The posture is relaxed and upright. Breathing, movements and the mind are synchronized through tai chi. In the style of the Yang family, which is very common in Europe, the movements are slow-motion, soft and flowing. Other styles of tai chi also involve quick movements and jumps.

By the way, Europeans named Tai-Chi "shadow boxing" because the movements create the impression of wrestling with an invisible counterpart.

Increase life energy

According to Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), life energy (Chi) flows through the body on certain paths - the meridians. The aim of tai chi is to strengthen the chi in the body. This happens through:

• Body awareness
• Body control
• flowing movements
• Relaxation
• inner harmony

Tai Chi for the back

Tai-Chi places great emphasis on body awareness and posture, which can have a positive effect on back pain. The desired posture is upright but relaxed. Among other things, posture errors that can cause cramps and pain are recognized and corrected.

The exercises also strengthen the back muscles and thus relieve the spine. In this way, tension can be avoided, for example caused by long periods of sitting, and the pressure on the intervertebral discs is reduced.

Tai chi also helps reduce stress, which can also have a positive effect on existing back pain. Persistent stress and the tension associated with it can lead to an unfavorable posture, for example to unconscious, constant hunching of the shoulders. This creates tension, mainly in the neck and back.

Tai-Chi can counteract this: The participants learn deep abdominal breathing, which promotes relaxation. The harmonious, dancing movements also have a calming effect. Stress, irritability, and aggression decrease, and the mood lifts.

Learn tai chi

Tai-Chi is a learning process that can be deepened for life. It is best to take 15 minutes a day to do this.

The meditative art of movement cannot be learned from books or DVDs. Although these can be a good reminder, corrective support from a Tai Chi teacher is extremely important, especially for beginners. The range of Tai Chi courses and teachers is immense in Germany. Courses are offered at adult education centers, for example. But there are also numerous private schools that specialize in Tai Chi and Qigong. It is best to look for a teacher with a good education and many years of experience.

effectiveness

Corresponding studies that prove the effectiveness of tai chi for back pain are still pending. There seems to be much to suggest that tai chi can relieve pain and improve mobility. A meta-study concluded that tai chi could improve various chronic pain diseases.

Many doctors recommend Tai-Chi with its calm, gentle sequences of movements for back pain, but also without scientific proof of effectiveness.

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