Tai Chi, Physiological Complexity, and Healthy Aging: Gait and EMG data

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.