Dance helps people with Parkinsons, maybe healthy senior citizens, too

Health and Medicine for Seniors

Dance helps people with Parkinsons, maybe healthy senior citizens, too

Ballroom dancing could help people with Parkinsons improve their balance and mobility, and maybe do the same for other seniors

By Tucker Sutherland, editor, SeniorJournal.com

Dec. 4, 2014 Researchers at the University of Southhampton, UK, recently announced that participants in their study who had Parkinsons and took part in ballroom dance lessons improved their balance, confidence and posture. They are not the first to discover that dancing can make life better and safer for Parkinsons patients, who are also almost exclusively senior citizens. Maybe seniors without PD should also consider how this exercise reduced falls in the PD group.

One clear risk factor for Parkinson's is age. The average age of onset is 60 years and the risk rises significantly with advancing age.

In one year, a third of people over 65 will have a fall, but two thirds of people with Parkinsons will experience a fall. After an initial fall, or if people start to be unsteady, they could develop a fear of falling which will then have an impact on their mobility and result in reliance on a caregiver or a healthcare service. Reducing falls for PD patients and senior citizens can increase confidence, prevent injuries and reduce costs.

Researchers at Southampton have been conducting the study to test the feasibility of evaluating the effects of ballroom dancing on the mobility of people who have the progressive, neurological condition that has no cure.

Parkinson's disease is a brain disorder that leads to shaking, stiffness, and difficulty with walking, balance, and coordination. It affects about half a million people in the United States although the numbers may be much higher. About 60,000 Americans are diagnosed with Parkinson's each year.

Both men and women can have Parkinsons disease. However, the disease affects about 50 percent more men than women.

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Dance helps people with Parkinsons, maybe healthy senior citizens, too