Tai Chi, Physiological Complexity, and Healthy Aging - Gait

This dataset contains gait and electromyography (EMG) data collected during a
hybrid study that included a two-arm randomized clinical trial (RCT) along
with an additional observational comparison group. The RCT arm investigated
the short-term effects of a Tai Chi intervention on 60 Tai Chi healthy naive
subjects, aged 50-79 years, living within the Greater Boston area, and
reporting no regular Tai Chi practice within the past 5 years. Subjects were
either randomized to 6 months of Tai Chi or usual care. Subjects came in for a
baseline visit along with 3 month and 6 month follow-ups. The observational
comparison group consisted of 27 healthy Tai Chi experts, aged 50-79 years,
currently engaged in an active Tai Chi training regimen, each with at least 5
years of Tai Chi experience. The expert group was tested only at their
baseline visit. The gait and EMG data were simultaneously recorded during
walking at the subjects preferred speed for 10 minutes under the single-task
condition and for 90 seconds under the dual-task condition. Our aim for this
study was to use gait and EMG data to gain a better understanding of the
mobility changes associated with Tai Chi training.