Taiji Quan & Injuries

[Rou30]

First & foremost, I am not recommending the reader(s) to substitute Taiji for chiropractic therapies, massage, or even with more serious injuries, operations.

I had injured my shoulder at an area site, probably 3-4 Months ago now. Had consistent pain in the shoulder area, sometimes so bad that it hurt just walking for longer periods i.e. 1 hour or more. I had started a Taiji class, Wu style (noting for perspective sake, not advocating for it) 2 Months ago, with 2 classes per week, plus training on my own time, with special attention towards my shoulder & back area, so as not to practice incorrectly & make the injury worse in possible cases. But the pain management was so great from the practice, that I was actually able to stop the meds & creams that were recommended for coping with the pain. I can walk well over an hour with lil to no pain, can even practice external arts & dabble with sparring now.
Taiji has been great for me!

That's my experience with Taiji, but I'm also interested in others more well versed in Taiji, practitioners here experience, ideas, etc with Taiji & injuries. I am quite new to Taiji, other than a lot of reading, my hands on experience is very little, but it's like a new book rather than chapter in my life, waiting to be wrote.

 

[oaktree]

I am coming from quite a lot of injuries most being my neck with out of alignment. I practice Chen I will say after I practice I feel better.
I think a lot of it deals with correct structure, stretching, sinking allowing at least my case "opening" and release of pressure off certain areas.

I find in my opinion Taijiquan better for my neck then Qigong that I practice.

 

[Xue Sheng]

Went to my first sifu out of frustration, I could no longer do TKD because of a back injury. I learned Beijing 24, a Wu competition style, various Taiji Jian forms and an Chen form called Shandong province old style Chen and it helped my back immensely.

 

[Xue Sheng]

Rou30

Thanks for this thread, I'm a long time Taijiquan guy but I kind of forgot why I was doing it..... you got me going agian

 

[blindsage]

Sometimes, if my body feels out of whack and I just start the form, all the sinking and aligning and relaxing makes my whole body immediately go "ahhhhhhhh".

 

[Rou30]

Thanks everyone for your insight. This is now my 3rd month learning/practicing Taiji, I now have 0 pain in the back, shoulder area. Am able to practice external arts for hours without pain. I feel more alert after daily Taiji practice, even more energy I'd say. It also has improved my external Wushu, helped me to relax in deep stances, generate more hip energy & flexibility, allowed me to be more soft & pliable where needed, especially in more advanced forms & techniques, soft or yao along with the hard is a must.
I'd go far enough to say that "correct" Taiji instruction/practice & structure alignment is somewhat of a miracle worker for the body.

So for all the Taiji junkies, hehe, I wish to ask if I may; What do you pay attention to, in other words what is important in your opinion to do during Taiji practice? How can I get the most out of each session?

 

[Xue Sheng]

Thanks everyone for your insight. This is now my 3rd month learning/practicing Taiji, I now have 0 pain in the back, shoulder area. Am able to practice external arts for hours without pain. I feel more alert after daily Taiji practice, even more energy I'd say. It also has improved my external Wushu, helped me to relax in deep stances, generate more hip energy & flexibility, allowed me to be more soft & pliable where needed, especially in more advanced forms & techniques, soft or yao along with the hard is a must.
I'd go far enough to say that "correct" Taiji instruction/practice & structure alignment is somewhat of a miracle worker for the body.

So for all the Taiji junkies, hehe, I wish to ask if I may; What do you pay attention to, in other words what is important in your opinion to do during Taiji practice? How can I get the most out of each session?

At 3 months....just focus on proper postures and listen to your shifu, the rest will come. Other than that I would not worry about much just yet.

 

[Elbowgrease]

Posture! And stay off your unweighted leg! and be patient.
It's crazy what doing the form every day can do (is it really just from practicing the tai chi form?)