Effect of Tai Chi Chuan on Quality of Life in Women with Multiple Sclerosis

Multiple Sclerosis (MS) is a chronic disease of central neurologic system that has a wide effect on neurological function; and can cause disability or poor quality of life in patients. The purpose of this study was to assess the effect of the Tai Chi Chuan on quality of life in women with the MS. Methods & Materials: This was a clinical trial which covered 34 women with MS in Iran Multiple Sclerosis Society in 2012. The participants were selected using purposive sampling and were randomly assigned to the experiment (n=16) and control (n=18) groups. Intervention was Tai Chi Chuan classes twice a week for 12 weeks. In this study، demographic questionnaire and Multiple Sclerosis quality of life questionnaire (MSQOL-54 scale) were used to collect data. Data were analyzed using the Chi-squared، independent samples T-test، paired samples T-test، Mann-Whitney U and Wilcoxon in the SPSS v. 18. There were no significant differences between the mean quality of life and its subscales among patients in the experiment and control groups at baseline except for the emotional well-being subscale. After the Tai Chi training intervention، significant differences were found between the two groups in the mean of some subscales of the quality of life including role limitation due to emotional problems، pain، emotional well-being، energy، social function، health distress، overall quality of life، physical health composite score، mental health composite score and also total quality of life score (P<0. 05). The results suggested that Tai Chi Chuan could be an alternative exercise intervention to increase quality of life in patient with the MS.