Small trial finds Tai Chi and resistance-stretching offer different benefits
Written by Patricia Inácio, PhD | Aug. 14, 2026
- Tai Chi may improve motor symptoms, physical function, and quality of life in early to mid-stage Parkinson’s disease.
- Tai Chi appeared particularly beneficial for motor control, balance, and muscular endurance.
- Findings support tailoring exercise programs to patients’ specific rehabilitation needs.
Practicing Tai Chi four times a week may lessen motor symptoms and improve physical function and quality of life in people with early- to mid-stage Parkinson’s disease, a small clinical trial found.
A program combining resistance and stretching exercises produced similar overall improvements in motor symptoms, but each approach appeared to have different strengths. Tai Chi appeared to have relatively greater benefits for muscular endurance, motor control, and balance, while resistance-stretching exercise showed more consistent effects on strength, mobility, and functional performance.
“These findings highlight the value of tailoring exercise interventions to individual rehabilitation needs,” the researchers wrote.
Exercise may help fill treatment gaps in Parkinson’s
The study, “Effects of Tai Chi on core motor symptoms in patients with Parkinson’s disease: A three-armed randomized controlled trial,” was published in the journal Behavioural Brain Research.
Parkinson’s is caused by the progressive loss of nerve cells that produce dopamine, a chemical messenger that helps control movement. Motor symptoms can include slowness of movement, muscle rigidity, tremor, balance problems, and difficulty walking.
While current treatments, such as levodopa, can ease several motor symptoms, they may be less effective for balance, posture, and other symptoms involving the body’s central axis. Exercise and rehabilitation can therefore be used alongside medication to help preserve mobility and independence.
Tai Chi is a mind-body exercise that combines slow, coordinated movements, controlled weight shifting, and attention to posture. Resistance exercises work muscles against a load to build strength, while stretching helps improve flexibility and range of motion.
Despite growing support for exercise-based rehabilitation in Parkinson’s, most studies have examined one type of exercise at a time, with few directly comparing Tai Chi and combined resistance-stretching exercise. Whether different forms of exercise affect specific motor symptoms differently also remains unclear.
With this in mind, researchers in China conducted a small, prospective, randomized pilot trial involving 45 adults ages 45 to 75 with early- to mid-stage disease. All could stand and walk independently, with or without an assistive device, and had been taking a stable medication regimen for at least a month.
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