Dance Therapy Patient Views

Shame I don’t lie in the US. I started dance when I was diagnosed and now it is part of my treatment that I pay for. I participate in ballet and contemporary dance. They have both helped tremendously giving strength and movements back that I had lost. Unfortunately, I think this paper will go the way of all other ps by being too generic to be useful. It is the discipline of complex movement that is so beneficial and it really matter how you practice the moves. I also practice long form wu style tai chi. Again the quality of the movement is really important. For people who are not so dedicated it can be helpful but not nearly as much as when you really apply yourself.

Exactly what I would expect to see. I started ballet and contemporary dance 6 months after diagnosis. I was previously very fit and active but recovering from a hip replacement. I had lost the ability to point my toes, dance gave me that back. I do not suffer with gait issues or freezing. Out of all the exercise I do dance and tai chi are by far the best.

I participated in this therapy program and it helped a lot. You have to keep at it though in order to reap any ongoing benefits. It is also fun!

Dance therapy may benefit patients with Parkinson’s disease by improving their motor function, results of a pilot study suggest. • Are you interested in trying dance therapy? Why or why not?

Dance for PD®, was founded in 2001 and offers specialized dance classes to people with Parkinson’s, their families, friends and care partners in eight locations around New York City and through a network of affiliates in more than 100 communities in 20 countries around the world. Dance for PD classes allow people with Parkinson’s to experience the joys and benefits of dance while creatively addressing symptom-specific concerns related to balance, cognition, motor skill, depression and physical confidence. I have taken a class in NYC and also have participated in live feeds. It is like a physical therapy session! You don't have to be a dancer to join the class. One can stand or participate seated. Have you tried Dance for PD? What did you like or didn’t like about it?

So I am relatively new. Diagnosed 2 1/2 years ago. I’ve always been very fit and active. Tremor dominance with left foot dystonia and dystonia in quad. Being body aware, the thing that helps the dystonia the most is exercise, the best being simple walking. I focus on stretching the toes and foot placement. The other thing that massively helped was ballet which is heavy on exercise requiring the toes to be pointed. I’d encourage you to experiment and find what works. My improvements didn’t come overnight, they took a while.

I have dystonia in me left foot and had lost the ability to point my toes. Massive improvements with ballet and contemporary dance. I also walk a lot and that helps too. I wouldn’t go for botox as it’s not long lasting. Just upped my siminet (still a low dose), but that’s helped significantly too.

I have dystonia in me left foot and had lost the ability to point my toes. Massive improvements with ballet and contemporary dance. I also walk a lot and that helps too. I wouldn’t go for botox as it’s not long lasting. Just upped my siminet (still a low dose), but that’s helped significantly too.

Dancing was new to me and the best. Contemporary and ballet adult classes. Tango would be good to. halle he’s our coordination in an artistic way. Boxing. I love walking in the outdoors across the fields, has a double benefit of improving our mood. Same for running and cycling. I also picked my old tai chi that I learned 10 years ago. I do the 108 wu style. I’ve reminded myself from youtube but learning from scratch really needs to be done in a class. On yes stretch and strength online with a guy called Tom Morrison. There are regressions (easier versions for everything). Check him out on youtube, very funny, but the system works and the facebook page is very supportive.

Do you have any research? I do a lot of exercise. Have reduced level since starting new job but about to ramp back up again. The one thing I kept up over the last 3 months was dancing. I do contemporary and ballet for adults in a group of regular people. I have the most amazing teacher who has come up with exercises that challenge my brain. I’ve relearned how to pint my toes on my left foot, Skip, do triplets and loads of other things. Often when gives us an exercise and I get a weird sensation where I know what I should be doing but my body doesn’t respond. Normally it only takes a couple of weeks before I regain control of that movement. The one we’ve discovered this term is one that affects the leg swing. On dyskinesia, I believe this is more to do with overdosing especially in smaller women. The brain plasticity definitely helps with bradykenesia though. I can now do triplets and keep form for a few mins when before it was only a couple of reps