How Parkinson's can be tangoed away: Shaking your hips twice-a-week may improve symptoms of disease
- Parkinson's sees a progressive loss of nerve cells and dopamine
- Dopamine loss cause involuntary shakes and struggles with physical tasks
- Regular dance classes has been shown to help regain movement control
By ROGER DOBSON
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On cue: Dancing can help Parkinson's sufferers with balance and movement
Dancing the tango or an Irish jig may improve symptoms of Parkinson’s disease.
New research shows that after dancing twice a week, patients were able to take up physical activities that they had been unable to perform since developing the disease.
Trials are now under way at a number of centres, including the University of Southampton, where the effects of dance on the disease are being investigated.
The 127,000 Britons with Parkinson’s disease suffer a progressive loss of nerve cells in part of the brain called the substantia nigra.
This leads to a reduction in levels of a brain chemical called dopamine.
Just what triggers this loss is not known, but is probably down to a combination of genetic and environmental factors.
Dopamine plays a key role in regulating the movement of the body and a drop in levels causes involuntary shaking, muscle stiffness and a slowing down of physical movements.
There is currently no cure for Parkinson’s but several treatments are available to help control symptoms.
Turning and walking backwards are among the tasks that sufferers have the most difficulty with.
In new research at Washington University School of Medicine, Parkinson’s patients took part in twice-weekly one-hour sessions of tango dancing.
Results show that by the end of the year-long study, there were significant improvements in their balance and mobility compared with patients who did conventional exercises.
Another study at the University of California tracked eye movement during dancing exercises.
People with Parkinson’s can have difficulty co-ordinating their eye movements, and researchers believe that the music and movements involved in dancing may help the brain to get around the balance and movement problems.
A third piece of research, being led by the University of Limerick, found that patients who practised traditional Irish set dancing – often to referred to as a jig – fell less often and were more mobile after regular set dancing lessons.
Benefits may be down to exercise, the strong rhythm of Irish music and the sociability of group dances.
Parkinson’s research first turned to set dancing after Italian doctor Daniele Volpe had a chance encounter in a Co Clare village.
Treadmill turn-off: Researchers found Parkinson's patients were more willing to retain dancing as an exercise compared to traditional gym workouts
While attending a traditional music festival, he saw a man walk in with distinct Parkinson’s symptoms and start dancing in a ‘fluent’ way.
Along with Dublin-based researcher Timothy Lynch, Dr Volpe put 24 patients with Parkinson’s through weekly set dancing classes for six months.
When measured against a control group, all of them saw improvement in balance, mobility and quality of life.
They found it easier to change direction and to start moving again after they had stopped.
In 20 years of sending patients to the gym, to swimming and to treadmill-based rehabilitation, he said that when it came to dancing, patients were far more willing to continue with the exercise.
It is suggested that external cues such as music bypass the areas of the brain rendered dysfunctional by the disease and activate other areas involved in movement.
The movement of the dance partner and the physical contact involved also act as cues. Co-ordinated steps with partners lead to faster movement, while physical contact improves balance.
The tango may be particularly useful because it involves rhythmic rocking, or shifting weight from foot to foot – a strategy commonly used to address muscle ‘freezing’.
Alongside the Southampton study, which is also looking at the tango, a second trial is under way at the University of Limerick, where Irish set dancing is being used. Parkinson’s UK is also looking at the benefits of Zumba – the Latin-inspired dance fitness craze.
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