According to the Parkinson's Disease Foundation, as many as 1 million Americans have Parkinson's disease, and about 60,000 Americans receive the diagnosis each year. The disease, which is a progressive, neurodegenerative movement disorder, often disrupts balance, walking and quality of life, notes Dr. Gammon Earhart from the Washington University School of Medicine. However, as Earhart reported in the "European Journal of Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine" in 2009, the benefits of dance therapy for people with Parkinson's disease can be clinically meaningful.
Existing Classes
A program called Dance for Parkinson's Disease offers classes at the Mark Morris Dance Center in Brooklyn, New York, and, through a network of partners and associates, in over 40 additional communities worldwide. As stated in the program description, the classes integrate movement from modern, theater and folk dance, as well as ballet, tap, improvisation and choreographic repertory. Through this method, classes address balance, flexibility, coordination, isolation and depression in an atmosphere that focuses on enjoyment and expression rather than therapy or work.
Class Experience
Dance class participants who suffer from Parkinson's disease often cite the power of dance to alleviate pain and escape the symptoms that characterize daily experience. In a report that aired on the "PBS News Hour" in 2010, David Iverson observed that the symptoms of participants with Parkinson's disease, such as shaking hands and stiff muscles, seemed to disappear during dance classes at the Mark Morris Dance Center in Brooklyn. Parkinson's sufferers said the dance classes offered a sense of freedom, creativity and bliss.
Research
Research indicates that many styles of dance may offer therapeutic benefits for Parkinson's sufferers. In a study published in the "Journal of Neurologic Physical Therapy" in 2007, researchers from the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis found that tango dance classes provided significant improvements in balance and mobility for participants with Parkinson's disease as compared to conventional exercise. The researchers explained that tango integrates aspects of movement relevant to Parkinson's patients, including dynamic balance, turning, movement initiation, varying speed and walking backward.
Benefits
Dr. Claire Henchcliffe, a neurologist at New York-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center, explained in a report on the "PBS News Hour" in 2010 that the benefits of dance therapy for people with Parkinson's stem from the presence of a cognitive component along with a physical component during dance class. In an article published in 2009 in the "European Journal of Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine," Dr. G.M. Earhart suggests dance may stimulate areas of the brain that normally show reduced activation in Parkinson's disease.
References
- Parkinson's Disease Foundation: Statistics on Parkinson's
- "European Journal of Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine"; Dance as Therapy for Individuals with Parkinson Disease; Gammon M. Earhart; 2009
- Mark Morris Dance Group: The Dance Center: Outreach
- Dance for Parkinson's Disease: About Us
- "PBS News Hour"; Dance Helps Parkinson's Patients Harness Therapeutic Power of Movement; December 2010
- Washington University in St. Louis: Tango Improves Balance, Mobility in Patients With Parkinson's Disease; Beth Miller; January 2008
Member Comments