Research progress on the effect and mechanism of Tai Ji Quan in the treatment of post-stroke depression

To explore the clinical efficacy and possible mechanism of Tai Ji Quan for post-stroke depression (PSD), literature related to Tai Ji Quan and PSD were retrieved from China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), Wanfang Academic Journal Full-text Database (Wanfang), Chongqing VIP Database (CQVIP), China Biology Medicine Disc (CBM), and PubMed, screened and then summarized. The results showed that Tai Ji Quan could effectively improve the depression and quality of life of stroke patients, and there were differences in the clinical efficacy among different training programs. Tai Ji Quan has the characteristics of “regulating mind”, “regulating breath”, and “regulating body”. It may achieve the effect of “combined physique-spirit treatment” by improving social psychology, increasing the level of neurotrophin, regulating neuroendocrine, reducing inflammatory factors, and regulating neural circuits.