Sitting Tai Chi Improves the Balance Control and Muscle Strength of Community-Dwelling Persons with Spinal Cord Injuries: A Pilot Study

Table 2

Comparison of outcome measurements between and within groups.

Measurements	Control group ()		Sitting Tai Chi group ()		value
	Pretest	Posttest	Pretest	Posttest	Pretest (between-group comparison)	Posttest (between-group comparison)	Group × time effect	Effect size of interaction
Handgrip strength
Right hand (kg)	32.8 ± 17.1	31.5 ± 14.8	21.4 ± 13.4	24.8 ± 15.2^f	0.354	0.807	0.019^a	0.285
Left hand (kg)	31.6 ± 15.4	32.4 ± 14.8	21.2 ± 11.8	23.8 ± 12.4^e	0.473	0.924	0.318	0.059
Limits of stability test
Reaction time (sec)	0.72 ± 0.27	0.83 ± 0.42	1.03 ± 0.33	0.76 ± 0.16^e	0.580	0.144	0.042^a	0.263
Maximum excursion (mm)	61.9 ± 53.6	60.6 ± 50.1	35.4 ± 19.8	44.4 ± 21.7^f	0.005^d	0.015^c	0.016^a	0.349
Directional control (%)	0.68 ± 0.1	0.65 ± 0.12	0.70 ± 0.11	0.77 ± 0.09^e	0.725	0.555	0.025^a	0.310
Sequential weight shifting test
Total time (sec)	50.8 ± 16.6	59.2 ± 27.5	55.0 ± 8.7	41.5 ± 7.8^e	0.190	0.001^d	0.035^a	0.281
Directional control (%)	0.64 ± 0.09	0.61 ± 0.09	0.60 ± 0.07	0.64 ± 0.04	0.699	0.027^c	0.033^a	0.286
Quality of life
Physical	10.6 ± 1.7	10.6 ± 1.8	11.4 ± 1.3	10.8 ± 2.1	0.331	0.490	0.534	0.023
Psychological	12.5 ± 1.9	12.2 ± 1.8	11.3 ± 1.4	11.8 ±2.2	0.308	0.741	0.171	0.107
Social	12.3 ± 2.6	12.8 ± 2.4	13.9 ± 2.5	14.1 ± 2.5	0.584	0.924	0.736	0.007
Environmental	13.3 ± 2.3	12.7 ± 2.6	11.9 ± 2.4	13.4 ± 4.9	0.697	0.373	0.196	0.096

Note. Values are mean ± SD or values.
Group by time interaction.
^aA difference significant at the confidence level.
^cA difference significant at the confidence level.
^dA difference significant at the level of confidence.
Within group (time effect).
^eA difference significant at the level when compared with pretest values.
^fA difference significant at the level when compared with pretest values.