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Ask-A-Doc: Is Dance Recommended For Parkinson’s Patients?

May 22, 2016

 

Q: Is it true that dance is sometimes recommended for Parkinson’s patients? It sounds like fun, but does it actually help?

A: Yes. (And yes.) The value of exercise for Parkinson’s disease and other neurodegenerative disorders has been documented in over 250 studies, more than half of which were published just in the last five years.

The common finding has been that any form of exercise is potentially beneficial, but it needs to be done regularly and strenuously enough to increase basal heart rate. The beauty of dance as an exercise form for Parkinson’s disease is that it incorporates the cardio benefits of exercise with flexibility, balance, and endurance components as well.

Furthermore, there is a social aspect of dance, and a joyful expression to dancing that provides incomparable psychological and mental benefits beyond the physical. Lastly, music and rhythm itself has been used as therapy for Parkinson’s disease, dementia and other neurodegenerative disorders, postulated to enhance neural activation, as well as assist in the mobility and balance issues common in these conditions.

I am a particular fan of Argentine Tango as therapy for Parkinson’s disease because partnered dancing is another aspect of dance as exercise that lends itself to other additional benefits.

 Find out more about Parkinson’s and other movement disorders — a neurological condition that causes abnormal movements or affects voluntary movements — at Hartford HealthCare’s Movement Disorders Center.