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Updated: Aug 8, 2025
Author Spotlight: Rehabilitation of Stroke Patients With a Digital Occupational Training System
Published on: December 29, 2023
Effects of Tai Chi Yunshou on upper-limb function and balance in stroke survivors: A systematic review and
Fen Feng1, Xiao-Chao Luo2, Ya-Jie Chen1
1Hospital of Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Chengdu, China.
Background And Purpose:
Physical rehabilitation plays an important role in the recovery of motor function after a stroke. This study aimed to evaluate the effects of Tai Chi Yunshou (TCY), a form of physical therapy, on upper-limb function and balance in stroke survivors.
Methods:
MEDLINE, Embase, CENTRAL and five Chinese databases were retrieved from inception to July 1, 2020 (updated on March 31, 2022). Randomized controlled trials of TCY versus no-treatment for stroke were included. The RoB-2 was used to evaluate the quality of included studies. Upper-limb motor impairment, balance, and activities of daily living (ADLs) were measured by Fugl-Meyer Assessment Upper Extremity Scale (FMA-UE), Berg Balance Scale (BBS), and Barthel Index (BI), respectively. Data synthesis was performed using RevMan (v5.3), and expressed as mean difference (MD) with 95% confidence intervals (CI).
Results:
Seven studies with 529 participants were included. Compared with no-treatment, TCY improved FMA-UE (MD = 7.31, 95% CI: 5.86-8.77, minimal clinically important difference [MCID]: 9-10), BBS (MD = 4.68, 95% CI: 0.28-9.07, MCID: 4), and BI (MD = 4.12, 95% CI: 3.28-4.96, MCID: 1.85) in stroke survivors.
Conclusion:
TCY may benefit balance and ADLs in rehabilitation after a stroke, but it may not improve upper-limb function clinically.
