Tai Chi Mentions and Recommendations in Clinical Practice Guidelines: A Global Review

Abstract

Introduction: Tai Chi is a moderate mindful physical activity with long historical practice. There are new and novel types and forms of Tai Chi with promising results. The aim of this narrative review was to assess the quantity of the presence of Tai Chi in clinical guidelines that recommended or mentioned Tai Chi globally. Materials and Methods: Three medical databases were searched from inception to November 1, 2021, the retrieved search results were screened by two authors according to inclusion and exclusion criteria. Literature in English language, which is a clinical guideline, and Tai Chi was mentioned or recommended in the text of the guideline were included. Results: A total of 1539 articles were retrieved after searching medical databases. Retrieved articles were screened by two authors for possible inclusion in this review. Finally, 50 clinical guidelines that mentioned Tai Chi were included. Tai Chi was recommended 38 times of the 50 included clinical guidelines that mentioned Tai Chi (76%). Tai Chi was mentioned mostly in clinical guidelines for pain management (n = 5), osteoarthritis (n = 5), and cancer (n = 5). Furthermore, Tai Chi was recommended in all included clinical guidelines for (pain management, low back pain, stroke, and Parkinson's disease). Conclusions: Tai Chi was recommended mostly in the management of pain and musculoskeletal diseases. Updating health promotion and chronic diseases management programs to include the new forms and types of mindful exercises according to the best scientific evidence is suggested. This review recommended performing future research and critical analysis assessing the quality of evidence of included clinical guidelines.