TABLE 1.

Summary of included studies.

References	Country	Participant characteristic, sample size	Disease	Drugs	Intervention	Time point	Duration of trial period	Primary Outcomes	Result
Hall et al., 2011	Australia	160 subjects M = 41, F = 119 Mean age (± SD): 44.4 ± 13.2	Persistent low back pain	NA	G1 (n = 80): Tai Chi G2 (n = 80): Control group(usual health care)	10 weeks	18 sessions over 10 weeks (2 times per week for 8 weeks followed by once per week for 2 weeks)	1. Pain intensity (NRS) 2. Disability (RMDQ)	Tai Chi produced greater reductions in pain symptoms and pain-related disability than the control intervention.
Weifen et al., 2013	China	320 subjects M = 192, F = 128 Mean age (± SD): 37.6 ± 5.4	Chronic non-specific low back pain	NA	G1 (n = 141): Tai Chi group G2 (n = 47): Backward walking group G3 (n = 47): Jogging group G4 (n = 38): Swimming group G5 (n = 47): No exercise group	6 months	G1: Five 45 min sessions per week for 6 months G2-5: Five 30 min sessions per week for 6 months	1. Pain intensity (NRS)	After three and six months, no statistically significant difference in the intensity of LBP was demonstrated between the tai chi and swimming groups; significant differences were demonstrated among the tai chi and backward walking, jogging, and no exercise groups.
Blodt et al., 2015	Germany	127 subjects M = 25, F = 102 Mean age (± SD): 46.7 ± 10.4	Chronic non-specific low back pain	No medication taken during the period of study	G1 (n = 64): Qigong group G2 (n = 63): Exercise therapy group	3 months	Weekly sessions of 90 min over a period of 3 months	1. Pain intensity (VAS)	Qigong was not proven to be non-inferior to exercise therapy in the treatment of chronic LBP.
Teut et al., 2016	Germany	176 subjects M = 20, F = 156 Mean age (± SD): 73 ± 5.6	Chronic non-specific low back pain	No medication taken during the period of study	G1 (n = 61): Yoga group G2 (n = 58): Qigong group G3 (n = 57): Control group (no additional intervention)	3 months	1. Yoga (24 classes, 45 min each, during 3 months) 2. Qigong (12 classes, 90 min each, during 3 months)	1. Pain intensity (VAS) 2. Pain (Functional Rating Index)	Participation in a 3-month yoga or qigong program did not improve chronic LBP, back function and quality of life.
Hall et al., 2016	England	102 subjects M = 25, F = 77 Mean age: 66.5	Chronic non-specific low back pain	NA	G1 (n = 51): Tai Chi group G2 (n = 51): Wait-list Control group (usual care)	10 weeks	Two 40 min sessions per week for the first 8 weeks, and one 40 min session class for the last 2 weeks	1. Pain intensity (NRS) 2. Pain related disability (RMDQ)	The total effects showed better outcome on measures for the tai chi group and were all significant at the 5% significance level.
Zou et al., 2019a	China	43 subjects M = 11, F = 32 Mean age: 58	Chronic non-specific low back pain	NA	G1 (n = 15): Tai Chi group G2 (n = 15): Core stability training group G3 (n = 13): Control group (normal daily activities)	12 weeks	Three sessions per week, with each session lasting 60 min for 12 weeks	1. Pain intensity (VAS) 2. Neuromuscular function assessment	Chen-style tai chi and Core stability training were found to have protective effects on neuromuscular function in aging individuals with non-specific LBP, while alleviating non-specific chronic pain.
Phattharasupharerk et al., 2019	Thailand	72 subjects M = 26, F = 46 Mean age: 35.25	Chronic non-specific low back pain	No medication taken during the period of study	G1 (n = 36): Qigong group G2 (n = 36): waiting list (general advice)	6 weeks	60 min session per week for 6 weeks	1. Pain intensity (VAS) 2. Back functional disability (RMDQ)	The qigong group showed significant improvement in pain and functional disability both within the group and between groups.
Liu et al., 2019	China	43 subjects M = 11, F = 32 Mean age: 59	Chronic non-specific low back pain	NA	G1 (n = 15): Tai Chi group G2 (n = 15): Core stabilization training group G3 (n = 13): No intervention	12 weeks	Three 60-min sessions per week for 12 weeks	1. Pain intensity (VAS) 2. Knee and ankle joint position sense	Tai Chi and Core Stabilization training have significant effects on pain VAS but not on joint position sense.
Yao et al., 2020	China	72 subjects M = 14, F = 58 Mean age (± SD): 53.5 ± 15	Chronic non-specific low back pain	No medication taken during the period of study	G1 (n = 36): Wuqinxi group G2 (n = 36): General exercise group	24 weeks	Four times a week with 1 h of each session for 24 weeks	1. Pain intensity (VAS) 2. Trunk Muscle Strength	Wuqinxi had better effects on chronic LBP for a long time compared with general exercise, including pain intensity and quality of life.
Ma et al., 2020	China	84 subjects M = 59, F = 25 Mean age: 36	Axial spondyloarthritis	NA	G1 (n = 42): Tai Chi group G2 (n = 42): Standard exercise therapy	12 weeks	Three 30–40 min sessions per week for 12 weeks	1. Pain intensity (VAS) 2. Spinal motor function	Compared with standard exercise therapy, “tai chi spinal exercise” has an ideal effect in patients with axial spondyloarthritis, which can more effectively relieve patient’s LBP and improve spinal motor function, with shorter training time and better compliance.
Sherman et al., 2020	USA	57 subjects M = 22, F = 35 Mean age: 73	Chronic non-specific low back pain	NA	G1 (n = 28): Tai Chi group G2 (n = 12): Health education group G3 (n = 17): Usual care group	12 weeks	Two 60 min sessions per week for 12 weeks	1.0–10-point pain intensity measure 2. Pain related disability (RMDQ)	Compared with health education, tai chi participants rated both the helpfulness of classes and their likelihood of recommending the classes to other significantly higher.

LBP, low back pain; VAS, visual analog scale; NRS, numerical rating scale; RMDQ, Roland-Morris Disability Questionnaire.