tai chi - treatment for knee pain?

So apparently, a recent study conducted by researchers at Tufts University in Boston have found that Tai Chi, a type of martial arts developed in China, can relieve arthritis pain in the knee.  "After a 12-week course of Tai Chi, people also had less difficulty with everyday tasks such as using the stairs"..
These results show some promise for alternative therapies, but of course, more research needs to be done.  The biggest flaw of this study (in my opinion) is that the sample size was so small.  Only 40 people in total had participated in the study, and as we all know, 40 people is not a very good/representative sample of the population.. On the other hand though, if the results of this study prove to be accurate, it could potentially change the way that we approach knee pain.  For the most part, once someone develops some knee pain or gets a knee injury, the sheer number of dollars that go into figuring out exactly what's wrong or treating the pain is crazy.  The cost of staying healthy in this country has gone outrageously out of control.  Luckily, if this study shows that tai chi (and maybe other forms of martial arts/yoga-type stretching) helps relieve knee pain, the costs would go down.  People who suffer from knee pain may become more inclined to seek help.. more patients would feel relief from pain without having to empty out their pockets..
for the full article, click here