Efficacy of Taiji Training as a Program for Stress Prevention

NCT01122706 | Completed

• 1 other identifier: 058/10
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 70
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

Background: Excessive exposure to psychosocial stress can be a potent trigger for somatic diseases and psychological disorders, a cause for missing work, and eventually lead to high economic loss. Therefore, for health and economic reasons the assessment of effectiveness of stress preventive interventions is of high relevance. According to several clinical studies, Taiji, a Chinese form of mindful and gentle movements, can significantly reduce symptoms of somatic diseases and psychological disorders. Some recently conducted Taiji-studies with healthy subjects indicate a stress protective effect. However, the stress protective impact of Taiji regarding psychosocial stress has not yet been examined. Objective: To investigate the efficacy of a 12 week Taiji training as a stress prevention program by measuring psychosocial stress reactivity in a laboratory setting, as well as the subjective perception of stress and coping-resources in daily life of 70 healthy volunteers. Hypothesis: Healthy subjects attending a 12 week Taiji course (frequency: twice a week for 1h) will show significantly reduced psychobiological reactivity, decreased stress perception and increased coping-resources on a standardized psychosocial stress test compared with healthy subject of the waiting list.

Conditions

Primary Prevention; Stress; Tai ji; Adult

Keywords

tai ji; psychosocial stress; primary prevention; Trier Social Stress Test; salivary cortisol; salivary alpha amylase; heart rate variability; stress management

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (1)

• Area under the curve (AUC) with respect to increase of salivary cortisol titer

  saliva samples will be taken 8 times during the Trier Social Stresstest. Salivary cortisol reactivity in response to this psychosocial stress test will be calculated by aggregating cortisol data of all 8 saliva samples in an AUC value with respect to increase.

  durring the Trier Social Stress Test

Secondary Outcomes (8)

• salivary alpha amylase reactivity to psychosocial stress

  8 times during the Trier Social Stress Test (which lasts 2h)

• heart rate

  continuously during the Trier Social Stress Test (which lasts 2h)

• heart rate variability

  continuously during the Trier Social Stress Test (which lasts 2h)

• perceived stress

  before, after the Taiji training and 2 months follow up

• self-efficacy-expectancy

  before, after the Taiji training and 2 months follow up

Study Arms (2)

Taiji

EXPERIMENTAL

35 healthy participants will regularly during 12 weeks attend Taiji training classes twice a week for one hour. (Sept. 6th till Nov. 25th 2010).

Other: Taiji training

waiting list control group

NO INTERVENTION

35 healthy participants are not allowed to attend any Taiji training during the intervention period (Sept. 6th till Nov. 25th 2010).

Interventions

Taiji training OTHER

Taiji training during 12 weeks (twice a week for 1 hour) (Sept. 6th till Nov. 25th 2010). The first 18 sequences of a series of 37 movements of the short form Yang style Taiji will be taught. The focus will be on memorizing the series of movements, developing a regular training routine and working on body alignment and flow of the movements.

Also known as: Taiji, Tai Chi, Tai Chi Chuan, Taijiquan

Taiji

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 18 Years - 50 Years
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64)

You may qualify if:

• ready to participate in the Taiji-intervention group as well as in the Waiting list control group
• mentally healthy
• physically healthy
• fluent in German (written and spoken)

You may not qualify if:

• previous practical experience with Taiji-exercises
• previous practical experience with the Trier Social Stress Test
• being absent for more than one week between Sept. 6th and Nov. 25th 2010
• daily alcohol consumption more than two alcoholic drinks
• daily tobacco consumption more than five cigarettes per day
• any kind of drug consumption
• pregnancy
• intake of hormonal compounds i.e. birth control pill and hormon replacement therapy

Sponsors & Collaborators

• University of Bern: lead
• Swiss Federal Institute of Technology: collaborator

Study Sites (1)

University of Bern, Institute of Complementary Medicine KIKOM

Bern, 3010, Switzerland

Location

Related Publications (6)

• Figueredo VM. The time has come for physicians to take notice: the impact of psychosocial stressors on the heart. Am J Med. 2009 Aug;122(8):704-12. doi: 10.1016/j.amjmed.2009.05.001.

  PMID: 19635269 BACKGROUND

• Raison CL, Miller AH. When not enough is too much: the role of insufficient glucocorticoid signaling in the pathophysiology of stress-related disorders. Am J Psychiatry. 2003 Sep;160(9):1554-65. doi: 10.1176/appi.ajp.160.9.1554.

  PMID: 12944327 BACKGROUND

• Klein PJ, Adams WD. Comprehensive therapeutic benefits of Taiji: a critical review. Am J Phys Med Rehabil. 2004 Sep;83(9):735-45. doi: 10.1097/01.phm.0000137317.98890.74.

  PMID: 15314540 BACKGROUND

• Esch T, Duckstein J, Welke J, Braun V. Mind/body techniques for physiological and psychological stress reduction: stress management via Tai Chi training - a pilot study. Med Sci Monit. 2007 Nov;13(11):CR488-497.

  PMID: 17968296 BACKGROUND

• Dickerson SS, Kemeny ME. Acute stressors and cortisol responses: a theoretical integration and synthesis of laboratory research. Psychol Bull. 2004 May;130(3):355-91. doi: 10.1037/0033-2909.130.3.355.

  PMID: 15122924 BACKGROUND

• Nedeljkovic M, Ausfeld-Hafter B, Streitberger K, Seiler R, Wirtz PH. Taiji practice attenuates psychobiological stress reactivity--a randomized controlled trial in healthy subjects. Psychoneuroendocrinology. 2012 Aug;37(8):1171-80. doi: 10.1016/j.psyneuen.2011.12.007. Epub 2012 Jan 4.

  PMID: 22222120 DERIVED

MeSH Terms

Interventions

Tai Ji

Intervention Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Mind-Body Therapies; Complementary Therapies; Therapeutics; Exercise Movement Techniques; Physical Therapy Modalities

Study Officials

• Marko Nedeljkovic, MSc

  Institute of Complementary Medicine KIKOM

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: NONE
• Purpose: PREVENTION
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Sponsor Type: OTHER

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: April 12, 2010
• First Posted: May 13, 2010
• Study Start: July 1, 2010
• Primary Completion: February 1, 2011
• Study Completion: June 1, 2011
• Last Updated: July 26, 2011

Record last verified: 2011-07

Locations

CH (1)