Living With Parkinson's Disease?

Tango to Better Balance

By Dennis Smith, MS, CNHC, Dance Instructor

Most of us acknowledge that regular physical activity in general can help keep our bodies healthy as we age. Dancing can be a great mind-body workout. In addition to keeping our bodies healthy, dancing is also helpful in treating some diseases.

We have known for some time that dancing regularly and frequently can reduce the average person's chance of developing Alzheimer's and Dementia by a huge 76% as indicated by a 21 year study reported in New England Journal of Medicine in June 2003. A preliminary study, performed at Washington University in St. Louis and reported in the December 2007 issue of the Journal of Neurological Physical Therapy, now indicates that Tango lessons may help those who suffer from Parkinson's disease. Nineteen subjects were randomly assigned to either a Tango group or an exercise class for 20 weeks. Both groups demonstrated improvement overall. The Tango group showed improvement in balance while the exercise group did not. Research is also being done at the University of Calgary to investigate why music and dance can lift some patients out of an immobile or frozen state and allow them temporary escape from the crippling effects of the disease.

Dance teachers across the nation are helping Parkinson's patients to lead better lives. The Mark Morris Dance Center in Fort Greene, Brooklyn, New York, has been offering weekly dance classes for people with Parkinson's for several years now. The Muhammad Ali Parkinson Center offers weekly ballroom dance classes to Parkinson's patients in the Phoenix, Scottsdale, and Sun City areas of Arizona.