A new U.S. study published in the Aug. 19 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine found that tai chi practice in patients with fibromyalgia can provide significant relief from chronic pain. Researchers at Tufts University Medical Center divided 66 patients with fibromyalgia into two groups: a “tai chi group” that practiced tai chi twice a week for 12 weeks, for one hour each time. The other group was the “fitness class group”, which participated in a fitness class twice a week with a light stretching warm-up before exercise. At the end of the 12-week experiment, participants in the “taijiquan group” scored higher on the “Questionnaire for Improvement of Physical and Psychological Symptoms of Fibromyalgia” and showed significant improvement in their symptoms. These included: less pain; improved ability to perform daily activities without pain; significantly less fatigue, depression and anxiety; and better overall quality of life. In addition, the quality of sleep and physical fitness of the participants also improved to some extent. Subsequent investigations also found that the above benefits of tai chi practice persisted even when extended to 24 weeks. The American Fibromyalgia Association estimates that fibromyalgia syndrome is a common condition with more than 10 million patients in the United States alone, with approximately 75 to 90 percent of patients being female. Symptoms include widespread muscle and bone pain, morning fatigue and stiffness, insomnia, and multiple site-specific pressure points. The syndrome also causes psychological problems such as anxiety, depression, memory and concentration loss, which are sometimes referred to as “fibromyalgia fog. Dr. Gloria Jeha, an associate professor at Harvard Medical School, said the new study awaits further confirmation from larger studies, but that tai chi has shown great potential for treating fibromyalgia.