The effect of Tai Chi lower extremity exercise on the balance control of older adults in assistant living communities

Table 1 Characteristics of participants at baseline

	Group
Variable	TC LEE (n = 40)	8-form TC (n = 31)	Stretching (n = 31)	P-value
Age (years)	78.3 ± 7.4	79.9 ± 6.9	79.4 ± 3.6	0.596
Height (cm)	158.0 ± 8.0	160.0 ± 7.0	162.0 ± 9.0	0.119
Weight (kg)	60.9 ± 7.4	64.1 ± 8.4	62.2 ± 7.8	0.291
Male/Female	9/20	8/22	11/20	0.427
MMSE Score^a	27.8 ± 1.9	28.4 ± 2.5	27.2 ± 2.8	0.541
Mean Falls in Past Year	2.0 ± 0.2	2.1 ± 0.3	2.0 ± 0.2	0.437
Number of Slow Walking (%)^b	19 (65.5)	17 (56.3)	19 (61.3)	0.065
Number of Finger Exercises (%)^c	10 (34.5)	14 (46.7)	12 (38.7)	0.058
Number of Arthritis (%)	6 (20.7)	9 (30.0)	7 (22.6)	0.677
Number of High Blood Pressure (%)	18 (62.1)	20 (66.7)	21 (67.7)	0.888
Number of Hearing Impairments (%)	2 (6.9)	1 (3.3)	2 (6.5)	0.807
Number of Heart Diseases (%)	15 (51.7)	20 (66.7)	21 (67.7)	0.365

^aMini-Mental State Examination score
^bSlow walking was defined as a very light physical activity, during which the participants can breathe easily and carry on a conversation. Two times or less per week
^cFinger exercise was a seated physical activity during which the participants exercise their hands and fingers. Two times per week

ISSN: 2662-7671