Tag Archives: Dance

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A review on dance and PD

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Dance classes for Parkinson’s patients was one of the things that got me involved in Power for Parkinson’s© and the Georgetown Area Parkinson’s Support group to begin with. For me, it has helped to improve symptoms and quality of life tremendously.

In this desk review of many studies, the authors came to the following conclusions:

Overall, the reviewed evidence demonstrated that dance can improve motor impairments, specifically balance and motor symptom severity in individuals with mild to moderate PD, and that more research is needed to determine its effects on non-motor symptoms and QOL. RCTs that use a mixed-methods approach and include larger sample sizes will be beneficial in fully characterizing effects and in determining which program elements are most important in bringing about positive, clinically meaningful changes in people with PD.

 Carapellotti AM, Stevenson R, Doumas M (2020) The efficacy of dance for improving motor impairments, non-motor symptoms, and quality of life in Parkinson’s disease: A systematic review and meta-analysis. PLoS ONE 15(8): e0236820. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0236820

I have come to the conclusion that every study or review has to include the phrase “more research is needed.” And it is true.

You can read the article in its entirety at the URL in the citation, or download it directly from this link:

The efficacy of dance for improving motor impairments, non-motor symptoms, and quality of life in Parkinson’s disease: A systematic review and meta-analysis

 

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Oh, I’m walking to New Orleans… or maybe the Outback

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Here’s a conference poster reporting some recent research on music and gait… and the effects of dual tasks on Parkinson’s Disease diagnosed people. It seems that all the researchers are in Australia, hence the title to this post.

Walkin’ and Talkin’: dual task effects on Gait

They had a few different tasks – just walking, walking while saying all the words one could think of starting with the letter (name a letter), and walking while counting in intervals. The conclusion was that Dance For Parkinson’s® had a positive effect. Naturally, they called for more research with larger numbers of participants.

In the meantime, as I always say: Don’t stop moving to the music!

 

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Art, Dance, Medicine, Parkinson’s, Genetics, Oh My!

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Arts and Medicine research – my only wish is that they would look into the possibility of physical changes in the brains of people involved, and not just on co-creating knowledge:

Co-creating knowledge…

Next:

Dance therapy demonstrates a highly appropriate choice of intervention to stimulate plasticity processes, improve age-related deterioration, and thus contribute to successful aging. Health care professionals involved in the care of elderly individuals should whenever possible consider the feasibility of associating dance therapy as a stimulating and therapeutic activity.

Dance therapy in aging: A systematic review

“There were 2,334 studies, out of which 6 were chosen.” This review limited itself to dance as therapy for healthy aging adults, and excluded those studies that looked at Parkinson’s or Alzheimer’s people. Again, I would hope that future studies look at changes in brain activity and structure, as well as observable differences in movement, etc.

Next, an open access article reviewing genetic risks involving Parkinson’s: “This study provides evidence that alleles associated with Parkinson disease risk, in particular GBA variants, also contribute to the heterogeneity of multiple motor and nonmotor aspects. Accounting for genetic variability will be a useful factor in understanding disease course and in minimizing heterogeneity in clinical trials.”

Genetic risk of Parkinson disease and progression: An analysis of 13 longitudinal cohorts

(Will have to read it in order to see what it says,  and compare it with my genome files to see what it means for me).

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Progressively difficult or complex dance training is superior to repetitive physical exercise

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Yep, you read that correctly. This research was done using neuro-imaging and revealed that brain plasticity ( how experiences reorganize neural pathways in the brain) is increased by a program of increasingly difficult dance training. (The title of this entry was edited 04/28/2021 to make it more clear that the variable was increasing the difficulty, and not simply dance vs. exercise. ALL exercise is good, as long as not overdone, but to incorporate research findings into the program (like Power for Parkinson’s or Lew-Ortiz Pabon’s Apollo Rhythm Club do), takes some extra effort).

Dance training is superior to repetitive physical exercise in inducing brain plasticity in the elderly.

… Both interventions increased physical fitness to the same extent. Pronounced differences were seen in the effects on brain volumes: Dancing compared to conventional fitness activity led to larger volume increases in more brain areas, including the cingulate cortex, insula, corpus callosum and sensorimotor cortex. Only dancing was associated with an increase in plasma BDNF levels. Regarding cognition, both groups improved in attention and spatial memory, but no significant group differences emerged. The latter finding may indicate that cognitive benefits may develop later and after structural brain changes have taken place. The present results recommend our challenging dance program as an effective measure to counteract detrimental effects of aging on the brain.

On a personal note, I noticed during a year long period of reduced mobility that my Parkinson’s symptoms had progressed (or regressed, depending on how you look at it). Slurred speech was perhaps one of the more obvious or noticeable symptoms. That has now disappeared, though one has to be mindful to speak clearly and loudly in order to be understood.

Physical exercise of any kind is good, it seems. Weight resistance and other exercises can benefit from the high intensity interval approach. But move to the music, and join a dance class that increasingly challenges the brain (especially if you are classified among the elderly, even if you are Young At Heart).

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Put on your dancing shoes

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Two links to Internet URLs reporting on recent research.

Comparing Dancing and Fitness

Dancing can reverse the signs of aging

The first link is the actual research article. The second link is an article reporting on the first one.

The results of the research article are not quite as effusive as the non-technical news article. Which is to be expected from a scientific article – don’t claim more than the data actually supports. The “popular ” press isn’t constrained by the same principles.

Bottom line – dance movement therapy is good for you. In my area, dance classes are free of charge and accommodate all levels of mobility, including wheelchair bound folks.

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Dance, aerobic exercise and musical training

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Today we have a couple of links to articles on the effects of dance and music:

Effects of Dance/Movement Training vs. Aerobic Exercise Training

Abstract only, but the results appear to be in favor of Dance Movement Therapy (DMT) as positive. Aerobic Exercise Therapy (AET) improved cardiovascular health, though, so both aerobic and dance movement therapies should be used for health.

Executive and non-executive composite scores showed a significant increase post-training (F(1,37)=4.35, p=.04; F(1,37)=7.01, p=.01). Cardiovascular fitness improvements were specific to the AET group (F(2,38)=16.40, p<.001) while mobility improvements were not group-dependent (10m walk: F(1,38)=11.67, p=.002; Timed up and go: F(1,38)=22.07, p<.001).
Results suggest that DMT may have a positive impact on cognition and physical functioning in older adults however further research is needed. This study could serve as a model for designing future RCTs with dance-related interventions.

Next, a short article on the effects of musical training on brain plasticity.

The-Effects-of-Musical-Training-on-Brain-Plasticity-and-Cognitive-Processes

The link between musical training and its effects on brain plasticity have been studied since the early 20thcentury neuroanatomy research of Ramon y Cajal. In recent decades, studies have observed the contributions of musical training in enhancing auditory, motor, and language processing areas of the brain. The ability of musical training to impact behavior and critical thinking skills may also open the door for new methods of combating age-and illness-related cognitive decline(emphasis added)

In conclusion, whether or not one has a neurodegenerative disease or not, it is good advice to do aerobic exercise for the heart, dance for the mobility, and learn or continue to play a musical instrument to keep the brain plastic and elastic and fantastic.

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Dance and exercise – a study and a publications review

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Not much new here – more evidence that dance exercises and physical exercise in general, is beneficial for people with PD.

Shall We Dance – master’s thesis  by Brittni Lynn McAlister, University of North Colorado

 In the words of one participant, the dance classes have been “. . . completely life-changing.”

Systematic review of exercises for Parkinson’s

This review revealed that people with Parkinson’s disease viewed physical activity as an enjoyable and positive experience, which aided with control of their symptoms and enhanced their wellbeing and quality of life.

 

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Almost let these references get away

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Some recent articles about music and dance – thought I had already published this – it appears not. Either that, or I’m more cognitively impaired than I thought I was. If this keeps up, I’ll have normal intelligence:

Dopamine, Oxytocin, Serotonin, and Endorphins 

Acronym is DOSE, and it’s a short article talking about how dance is good for you because it releases several different hormones and neurotransmitters – and not just because it makes you feel good – but because it does….😎

Language of music and psychophysical foundations  

from the abstract: “Application of music in rehabilitation medicine requires an understanding of the mechanisms of music perception. This article discusses differences in character of the basic melodic elements and addresses some of the specifics of tonal space. Colloquially, music is called the language of emotion. Bearing in mind that high-level cognitive functioning in humans is inseparable from affective consciousness, investigating the mechanisms of emotional processing belongs to an important area of cognitive sciences. Studying music perception can help to advance methods of music therapy and to elucidate major aspects of human consciousness.” (emphasis added)(Article is on ReseaechGate; membership(.

Drumming program to improve social interactions

Although the article is about subjects with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), I think that the results are likely to be replicable with or generalizable to Parkinson’s Disease folks.

” results suggest that the children with ASD significantly improved in the domains of enjoyment and fun, and showed a positive trend for developing improved social relationships with peers and camp counselor partners.”

 

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Dance/movement, quality of life, and social skills, oh my!

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First, an abstract:

Use of Dance/Movement therapy for autism spectrum

“… future research must demonstrate greater scientific rigor in documenting the efficacy of DMT treatment interventions. It also found that imitation (mirroring) interventions helped individuals with ASD improve their social skills.” (Bold added) (This article was one of those reviews of published articles. The abstract does include a list of references, many of which are available online).

Next, an open access article on multidisciplinary approach:
(This sounds like another article recently posted. Would investigate, but having Parkinson’s means there’s never enough time to do everything you want to do).

Enhanced Quality of Life

Objectives: To compare the effects of inpatient enhanced multidisciplinary care (EMC) and multidisciplinary rehabilitation (MR)
on the symptoms and quality of life (QOL) of patients with Parkinson disease (PD) and to clarify the relation between reduction in
symptoms and the improved QOL. Methods: This study was a quasi-randomized controlled (alternate allocation), assessor blinded, single-center study. We recruited 80 patients with idiopathic Parkinson disease, Hoehn and Yahr stage 2 to 4, on stable
medication. Patients were included in an EMC or MR group. Both rehabilitation programs were performed for 8 weeks (17 h/wk).
Main outcome measures were Parkinson’s Disease Questionnaire-39 and Unified Parkinson’s Disease Rating Scale. Results: The
EMC induced significant improvements in QOL compared to MR. We found that body axis symptoms (rising from a chair,
posture, postural stability, falling, and walking) as well as nonmotor symptoms (depression) in patients with PD were relieved by
the inpatient EMC. Conclusions: Enhanced multidisciplinary care for patients with PD appears to be effective in improving the
QOL. The improvement in motor and nonmotor symptoms, including depression, may contribute to the improved QOL.

Finally, another open access article that might be of interest to those using technology: analysis of respiration to evaluate movement.

The role of respiration audio in multimodal analysis of movement qualities

A little out in left field, but who knows?

That’s all for today, folks. Read and ponder.