Evidence map›Paper›PMID 22021734›Full record

ArticleBMJ open2011

T'ai chi for the treatment of osteoarthritis: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Jung Won Kang, Myeong Soo Lee, Paul Posadzki, Edzard Ernst

Open access · goldAbstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in BMJ open, 2011. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 21 papers, 6 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
21citing papers in PubMed, 6 pooled it
3.2field-weighted citation impact, top 9% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

21 citing papers in PubMed, 6 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 52 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Health benefits of tai chi: What is the evidence?Canadian family physician Medecin de famille canadien · 2016
    Pooled it
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  16. Canadian family physician Medecin de famille canadien · 2016
    Review
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  19. Future directions for the management of pain in osteoarthritis.International journal of clinical rheumatology · 2014
    Article
  20. Complementary therapies for osteoarthritis: are they effective?Pain management nursing : official journal of the American Society of Pain Management Nurses · 2013
    Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

4 authors at 3 institutions in 2 countries.

Jung Won KangDepartment of Acupuncture & Moxibustion, College of Korean Medicine, Kyung Hee University, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
Myeong Soo Lee
Paul Posadzki
Edzard Ernst
Peninsula College of Medicine and Dentistry · GBKorea Institute of Oriental Medicine · KRKyung Hee University · KR

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Objectives To summarise and critically evaluate the evidence from randomised clinical trials (RCTs) of t'ai chi as a treatment for patients with osteoarthritis (OA). Design Eleven databases were searched from their inception to July 2010. RCTs testing t'ai chi against any type of controls in human patients with OA localised in any joints that assessed any type of clinical outcome measures were considered. Two reviewers independently performed the selection of the studies, data abstraction and validations. The risk of bias was assessed using Cochrane criteria. Results Nine RCTs met the inclusion criteria, and most of them had significant methodological weaknesses. Six RCTs tested the effects of t'ai chi compared with that of an attention-control programme, a waiting list and routine care or self-help programmes in patients with OA in the knee. The meta-analysis suggested that t'ai chi has favourable effects on pain (n=256; standard mean difference (SMD), -0.79; 95% CI -1.19 to -0.39; p=0.0001; I(2)=55%), physical function (n=256; SMD, -0.86; 95% CI -1.20 to -0.52; p<0.00001; I(2)=38%) and joint stiffness (n=256; SMD, -0.53; 95% CI -0.99 to -0.08; p=0.02; I(2)=67%). Conclusion The results are encouraging and suggest that t'ai chi may be effective in controlling pain and improving physical function in patients with OA in the knee. However, owing to the small number of RCTs with a low risk of bias, the evidence that t'ai chi is effective in patients with OA is limited.

Identifiers

PMID22021734
PMCPMC3191392
OpenAlexW2079006300

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY-NC
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.