A new study suggests that practicing the ancient Chinese martial art of Tai Chi can significantly ease the pain of arthritis.

Researchers have found that in just 12 weeks time patients who started performing exercises had reduced pain in their joints.

Although millions practice this effective martial art every morning, it is most popular in China where people gather in parks every morning to begin their day with slow, methodical movements.

Tai chi is designed to promote relaxation and improve balance along with adding strength and suppleness to the body.

Some previous studies also suggested that Tai chi could be helpful in relieving arthritis pain but the results were not conclusive.

Therefore researchers from Tufts University in Massachusetts decided to test the effect of the martial art on patients suffering from arthritis of the knee- a painful condition affecting thousands of Britons.

Lynn Love, director of operations at the National Rheumatoid Arthritis Society (NRAS), agreed with the findings of the study carried out by these researchers and said, "Gentle exercises are certainly beneficial for many people with rheumatoid arthritis, but that is down to the individual because the disease could be so different in every individual."

She also suggested quitting smoking because the disease is more aggressive in those who smoke.

There are 200 types of arthritis classified into three categories: inflammatory arthritis, non-inflammatory arthritis and connective tissue disease.

65,000 knee replacements are carried out every year by NHS on patients with arthritis of the knee.