None listed
Conditions
Brief summary
Individuals with Parkinson disease (PD) often demonstrate postural instability, gait difficulties, and reduced functional mobility that can lead to decreased quality of life. While there is accumulating evidence supporting dance as an effective management option in alleviating the symptoms of PD, there is a limited number of studies that have objectively assessed the effects of dance, particularly related to the Dance for Parkinson’s Disease® (DfPD®) programme. Therefore this study aimed to explore the impact of dance classes based on the DfPD® model, on gait during normal walking and dual-tasking, cognition, functional mobility, fine manual dexterity, anxiety, depression, quality of life and caregiver burden in people with Parkinson’s disease (PD). We hypothesised that improvements in the above outcomes would be noted in the dance group while no improvements would be noted in the untreated control group.
Interventions
The main intervention for this study is the dance classes based on the internationally recognised DfPD® programme, which was developed by the Brooklyn Parkinson Group and Mark Morris Dance Group in New York. The programme is specially designed for people with Parkinson’s disease (PD). The classes are taught by six DfPD® trained instructors who are routinely conducting the dance for PD classes at Queensland Ballet. The class is a one hour class once a week and runs for a period of three months. T
The main intervention for this study is the dance classes based on the internationally recognised DfPD® programme, which was developed by the Brooklyn Parkinson Group and Mark Morris Dance Group in New York. The programme is specially designed for people with Parkinson’s disease (PD). The classes are taught by six DfPD® trained instructors who are routinely conducting the dance for PD classes at Queensland Ballet. The class is a one hour class once a week and runs for a period of three months. The classes involve seated dancing, standing dancing and progressive standing dancing (i.e. moving across the floor). The class consists a 30-minute seated warm-up, followed by 15 minutes each of standing dance then progressive standing dance. The seated dance techniques include gentle upper body movement, slow feet warm-up, different improvisational dances and dance patterns which involved articulation of the spine and head, and facial expressions. Standing dance contains repeated stretching of the leg and pointing the foot (‘‘tendu,’’ a basic ballet step) and bending the knees with feet in various positions (plie´).The progressive standing dance consists of a mixture of choreographed sequences, improvisation, theatrical interpretation, and group dancing. These dance classes include aspects of ballet, modern dance, choreographic repertory, jazz, tap, Irish dancing, and salsa. The music used in the classes ranges from classical to modern. The adherence for the dance classes is monitored using the attendance checklists. The study has a quasi-experimental design. Allocation to the dance group or the control group was based on the availability of the participant. Therefore the random allocation was not achieved.
Sponsors
Queensland University of Technology
Study design
Allocation
Non-randomised trial
Intervention model
Parallel
Primary purpose
Treatment
Masking
Open (masking not used)
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
All
Age
40 Years to 85 Years
Healthy volunteers
No
Inclusion criteria
1) clinically diagnosed as having idiopathic PD, using the diagnostic criteria for clinically defined "definite PD" based on published standards, 2) aged between 40-85 years; 3) in mild to moderate stage of PD (I-III on Hoehn and Yahr scale), 4) with no dementia (Addenbrooke’s scale greater than or equal to 82), 5) with no clinically significant co-morbidities: medical, neurological (other than PD), musculoskeletal, cardiovascular or respiratory abnormalities, and 6) able to walk independently for at least 3 m without an assistive device
Exclusion criteria
To avoid possible carry-over effects, participants who were engaged in any dance or dance related programmes during the past six months were excluded. In addition, those with Addenbrooke’s scale less than 82, and those with confounding medical, neurologic, musculoskeletal, cardiovascular or respiratory abnormalities were excluded.
Outcome results
None listed