Online Tai Chi is helping people with chronic knee pain

Tai Chi is a slow, gentle mind-body exercise that has been shown to benefit a wide range of health conditions and is particularly effective for people with chronic knee pain caused by osteoarthritis.

However, Tai Chi is traditionally taught in person, often in groups that might involve cost, travel and scheduling. These barriers can make participation difficult, especially for people living in regional and remote areas.

Osteoarthritis is one of the most common and burdensome health conditions in Australia, affecting one in five Australians aged 45 and over and costing the health care system $AU4.3 billion each year.

So, there’s an urgent need for affordable and accessible exercise options.

New research, published in JAMA Internal Medicine, found that a free online Tai Chi program (My Joint Tai Chi) is effective in improving pain and function for people with chronic knee pain.

A team at the University of Melbourne developed the online unsupervised My Joint Tai Chi program in collaboration with a panel of expert Tai Chi instructors and people with osteoarthritis.

The program consists of 12 pre-recorded 40-minute videos (one each week, practiced three times weekly over 12 weeks) led by an experienced Tai Chi instructor.

Each video includes a warm-up, cool-down, and a modified 10-form Yang-style Tai Chi routine tailored for people with chronic knee or hip pain and little or no prior Tai Chi experience.

Movements start simple and gradually progress each week.

To test the effectiveness of this program at improving outcomes in knee pain sufferers, researchers conducted a randomized controlled trial, called the RETREAT Trial.

A total of 178 adults, including 42% from rural and regional areas, took part in the trial.

Participants were randomly assigned to either the online Tai Chi program or an online education control where they could learn about the benefits of exercise for their osteoarthritis.

Compared with the control group, those in the Tai Chi group had greater improvements in pain and physical function, with twice as many Tai Chi participants reporting an overall improvement in their knee condition.

Tai Chi participants also reported improvements in quality of life, physical and mental well-being, and balance confidence, with no serious adverse events reported.

Participants were highly satisfied with the program and said they would highly recommend it to others.

The participants were interviewed about their experiences with the program. Most described it as relaxing, engaging and easy to follow, and they appreciated the positive experience of learning something new.

Many valued the flexibility of being able to pause, rewind and repeat the session anytime, anywhere—a feature that helped them learn at their own pace and fit exercise into their daily lives.

The goal was to make evidence-based exercise accessible to everyone, regardless of where they live or what their schedule looks like.

By bringing Tai Chi online, it removes some of the biggest barriers people face—like cost, travel and the confidence to exercise in a group setting.

The program was tested in people with chronic knee pain, but it was also developed for those with hip pain.