QUALITY OF LIFE CHANGES IN POST-MENOPAUSAL WOMEN WITH OSTEOPOROSIS AFTER SHORT TERM TAI CHI EXERCISE PROGRAM

Objectives. To evaluate quality of life changes in post-menopausal women with osteoporosis after application of Tai Chi exercise program. Material and methods. 13 post-menopausal women with osteoporosis participated in the study which included application of Tai Chi exercise program for eight weeks. Two, one-hour group training sessions were taught per week. Quality of life was assessed two times: before and after eight weeks of Tai Chi program. Quality of life measurements were conducted using SF-36 questionnaire. Results. Research data showed statistically significant changes (pu003c.05) in three of eight SF-36 fields after application of Tai Chi exercise program: bodily pain, general health perception and emotional role functioning while no significant changes were observed in other five fields (p≥ .05). Conclusions. Obtained results showed positive changes in Physical and Mental component areas. However, further future research is still needed to find out how Tai Chi program would affect other fields of the life.