Evidence library · Muscle strength

Does tai chi and qigong affect muscle strength in menopause? What 9 studies found

Studies of tai chi and qigong in perimenopausal and postmenopausal women that measured muscle strength. 7 reported an improvement and 1 found no difference against the comparison group.

  1. A review of 7 studies in adults over 50, including postmenopausal women, found combined tai chi and resistance training improved muscle strength, aerobic endurance, balance, and mobility after long term training.

    Reported an improvementSystematic review · 703 participants pooled · 2020Midlife womenCited 17 timesPubMed

  2. Postmenopausal women with osteopenia did 6 months of Tai Chi with or without green tea extract; both increased bone formation markers and improved muscle strength.

    Reported an improvementRandomised trial · 150 women · 26 weeks · 2012PostmenopausalCited 78 timesPubMed

  3. Older postmenopausal cancer survivors did tai ji quan, strength training, or stretching twice weekly for 6 months and researchers found no difference in fall incidence between groups.

    Reported an improvementRandomised trial · 462 women · 26 weeks · 2023PostmenopausalCited 21 timesPubMed

  4. A review of four trials of tai chi in postmenopausal women with osteoporosis found a positive effect on balance but no clear support for benefits in muscle strength or quality of life.

    No difference foundSystematic review · 2014PostmenopausalCited 6 timesPubMed

  5. In 614 postmenopausal women at high osteoporosis risk, two years of tai chi or calcium and vitamin D supplementation were linked to differing changes in grip strength and bone turnover markers across groups.

    Mixed resultsRandomised trial · 614 women · 104 weeks · 2017PostmenopausalCited 10 timesPubMed

  6. Postmenopausal women with rheumatoid arthritis did a 16 week Tai Chi based activity program and showed improved grip strength, walking speed, disease activity and quality of life versus usual care.

    Reported an improvementRandomised trial · 62 women · 16 weeks · 2023PostmenopausalCited 6 timesPubMed

  7. 62 postmenopausal women did 12 weeks of tai chi; dynapenic women showed improved handgrip strength, function and health perception, and both groups had lower blood pressure.

    Reported an improvementControlled trial · 62 women · 12 weeks · 2011PostmenopausalCited 20 timesPubMed

  8. Fall-prone postmenopausal women did 12 weeks of Taijiquan and improved balance, flexibility, arm curl strength, and handgrip strength versus controls.

    Reported an improvementControlled trial · 50 women · 12 weeks · 2024PostmenopausalCited 4 timesPubMed

  9. In 598 postmenopausal women given tai chi or calcium and vitamin D for two years, a gene variant was linked to greater lower limb muscle strength improvement after the intervention.

    Reported an improvementCohort study · 598 women · 104 weeks · 2018PostmenopausalCited 2 timesPubMed

How to read this. Each line is one study, summarised in plain language from its PubMed abstract, with the authors' own sentence underneath on the study page. A count of studies is not a verdict: trials differ in size, length and quality, and a result in one group of women may not hold in another. Nothing here is medical advice.

Summaries are generated, then checked by machine against the abstract they came from; any summary that could not be matched word for word was left out. Our clinical lead is reviewing the summaries topic by topic, and this note will change when that is done. Corpus last refreshed 2026-11-03. Spotted a mistake? Tell us and we will fix the summary or remove the study.

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