Physical benefits of dancing for healthy older adults: a review.
Keogh JW, Kilding A, Pidgeon P, Ashley L, Gillis D.
School of Sport and Recreation and Centre for Physical Activity and Nutrition Research, AUT University, Auckland, New Zealand.
Dancing is a mode of physical activity that may allow older adults to improve their physical function, health, and well-being. However, no reviews on the physical benefits of dancing for healthy older adults have been published in the scientific literature. Using relevant databases and keywords, 15 training and 3 cross-sectional studies that met the inclusion criteria were reviewed. Grade B-level evidence indicated that older adults can significantly improve their aerobic power, lower body muscle endurance, strength and flexibility, balance, agility, and gait through dancing. Grade C evidence suggested that dancing might improve older adults' lower body bone-mineral content and muscle power, as well as reduce the prevalence of falls and cardiovascular health risks. Further research is, however, needed to determine the efficacy of different forms of dance, the relative effectiveness of these forms of dance compared with other exercise modes, and how best to engage older adults in dance participation.
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"Life without line dancing and the other activities would be too dreadful to imagine": an increase in social activity for older women.
Nadasen K.
Department of Anthropology/Sociology, University of the Western Cape, Private Bag x17, Bellville, 7535 South Africa. knadasen@uwc.ac.za
The literature on aging is replete with the positive effects of physical exercise on the well-being of older adults. Some suggest, however, that the potential impact of social activities has not received adequate attention, and others note the importance of distinguishing between the physical and nonphysical impact of these activities. This study investigated whether line dancing, a physical activity, led to an increase in social activity. Thirty women over the age of 60 were interviewed to discover how line dancing affected them. Content analysis of the interviews helped identify various themes indicating that line dancing enabled these women to expand their repertoire of social activity, leading to positive reinforcements such as further community involvement, charitable work, inclusion in national sports events, self-expression, and personal development. The impact of line dancing plainly goes beyond the perceived physical benefits.
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Dance and peer support to improve diabetes outcomes in African American women.
Murrock CJ, Higgins PA, Killion C.
University of Akron, 209 Carroll Street, Akron, Ohio 44325-3701, USA. cj24@windstream.net
PURPOSE: The purpose of this pilot study was to test a dance intervention and explore the role of peer support to improve the diabetes outcomes of A1C, weight, body fat, and blood pressure in African American women with type 2 diabetes. METHODS: This study was conducted in a community-based outpatient clinic. A mixed methods design was used. A total of 46 women, 26 to 83 years of age, were randomized to either the 12-week dance group or usual care group. Both between group and intraindividual group differences were analyzed from baseline to 12 weeks. Focus group interviews explored the role of peer support through semistructured discussions for the women enrolled in the dance group. RESULTS: Results showed significant group mean differences in systolic blood pressure (BP) and body fat. Paired t tests showed significant reductions in all the diabetes outcomes for the dance group and significant increases in glycolated hemoglobin (A1C) and systolic BP for the usual care group. The emergent themes of the focus groups were that a diabetes diagnosis was devastating, and changing eating habits and taking medications was often difficult. Peer support in the dance group was expressed as camaraderie, enjoyment, and laughter, which fostered attendance. CONCLUSIONS: Dancing 2 times per week for 12 weeks produced significant group differences in systolic BP and body fat and significant intraindividual changes. The implications are that dancing in a supportive environment with peers may be an effective strategy for diabetes educators to help those with diabetes to become more physically active and improve diabetes outcomes and overall health.
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Effect of a community-based Argentine tango dance program on functional balance and confidence in older adults.
McKinley P, Jacobson A, Leroux A, Bednarczyk V, Rossignol M, Fung J.
Faculty of Medicine, McGill University, Montreal QC, Canada.
Tango-dancing and walking programs are compared in nondemented seniors at risk for falls. Fallers (N = 30) age 62-91 were randomly assigned to a 10-wk (40 hr, 2 hr 2x/wk) tango class or walk group. The Activities-specific Balance Confidence (ABC) scale, sit-to-stand scores, and normal and fast walk were measured pre-, post-, and 1 month postintervention. Two-way repeated-measures ANOVAs indicated a significant main effect (p < .01) for time on all measures. Group and interaction effects for ABC led to improvement only in tango because of high baseline mean for the walk group. Clinical improvements measured using Established Populations for Epidemiologic Studies of the Elderly scoring were greater for the tango group. From these preliminary results it is suggested that although both interventions are effective activities for increasing strength and walk speed, tango might result in greater improvements than walking in balance skills and in walking speed in the 10-wk intervention. The study needs to be repeated with a greater sample size to determine the effectiveness of walking on fear of falling.
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Effects of dance on physical and psychological well-being in older persons.
Hui E, Chui BT, Woo J.
Division of Geriatrics, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, 33 A Kung Kok Street, Shatin, New Territories, Hong Kong. huie@ha.org.hk
This study was aimed at determining the effects of dancing on the health status of older persons. A pool of 111 community-dwelling subjects were allocated to either an intervention group (IG), which included 23 sessions of dance over 12 weeks, or a control group (CG). All participants were assessed at baseline and 12 weeks. Physical outcome measures included the 6-min timed walking test (6MWT), trunk flexibility, body composition, lower limb endurance and strength, balance, the timed up-and-go test (TUG), resting heart rate and blood pressure. Quality of life was assessed by the Medical Outcomes Survey Short Form (SF-36) questionnaire. The IG's views toward dancing were also evaluated at 12 weeks. Significant difference was observed between the groups in six outcome measures: mean change in resting heart rate, 6MWT, TUG, lower limb endurance and the 'general health' and 'bodily pain' domains of SF-36. The majority of the dance group felt the intervention improved their health status. These findings demonstrate that dancing has physical and psychological benefits, and should be promoted as a form of leisure activity for senior citizens.
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Art, dance, and music therapy.
Pratt RR.
Research & Development, Music Health Institute, 532 Colorado Avenue, Santa Monica, CA 90401 USA. rosalie65_@hotmail.com
Art, dance, and music therapy are a significant part of complementary medicine in the twenty-first century. These creative arts therapies contribute to all areas of health care and are present in treatments for most psychologic and physiologic illnesses. Although the current body of solid research is small compared with that of more traditional medical specialties, the arts therapies are now validating their research through more controlled experimental and descriptive studies. The arts therapies also contribute significantly to the humanization and comfort of modern health care institutions by relieving stress, anxiety, and pain of patients and caregivers. Arts therapies will greatly expand their role in the health care practices of this country in the twenty-first century.
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Dance biomechanics: a tool for controlling health, fitness, and training.
Koutedakis Y, Owolabi EO, Apostolos M.
Department of Sport and Exercise Sciences, Thessaly University, Trikala, Greece. y.koutedakis@uth.gr
The need for superior performance in dance has impelled teachers and choreographers to use increasingly effective and sophisticated methods of preparation. To that end, such modalities ofbiomechanics as advanced motion-capture, muscle-function and muscle-strength techniques are being used to provide useful information about which of the dancers' needs require special attention. This often involves improving.phpects of dance technique, which, in turn, may help dancers to prevent disabling injuries, the most frequent cause of notoriously short dance careers. Biomechanics may also help dancers to assess fitness levels, to control overtraining or "burnout," and assist them and their teachers in the effective scheduling of practice and exercise sessions.
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Does partnered dance promote health? The case of tango Argentino.
Kreutz G.
Royal Northern College of Music, 124 Oxford Road, Manchester M13 9RD, UK. gunter.kreutz@rncm.ac.uk
AIMS: Cultural activities, including music, singing and dance, have often been conceptualised as enhancing well-being as well as promoting mental and physical health. This paper focuses on partnered dance in the context of 'cultures of fitness'. Its purpose was to investigate the dancers of tango Argentino, and to explore potential health benefits in this group. METHODS: Participants (N=110) completed a self-developed inventory, which was, in part, based on interviews and observations as a participant observer. The inventory addresses educational, musical, and socio-economic background, motivation for and investment in dancing tango, and other leisure activities. RESULTS: Dancers are characterized by high-level education and socio-economic status. Motivation appears to be predominantly driven by both hedonistic and social factors, accounting altogether for nearly 60% of the variance. The majority of individuals started dancing tango only in their 30s. Physical investment in terms of time and money indicate tango dancing as a highly important activity that seems to involve substantial opportunity of moderate physical exercise, social interaction and emotional reward. In consequence, tango dance was identified as the primary leisure activity. CONCLUSIONS: Tango dancers were identified as highly educated individuals, who are dedicated to the practice in many respects, including physical and emotional. They draw from similar motivations as compared to participants of other musical activities such as singing and listening to music. Notably,.phpects of physical fitness are more prominent in this group. The intensity with which tango is practised seems to depend to some degree on individual lifestyles. Taken together, the results suggest a high degree of personal involvement in tango dance as a primary leisure activity. Implications of partnered dance for social, emotional, and physical well-being and health promotion demand further research.
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A randomized controlled trial of Turkish folklore dance on the physical performance, balance, depression and quality of life in older women.
Eyigor S, Karapolat H, Durmaz B, Ibisoglu U, Cakir S.
Ege University, Faculty of Medicine, Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation Department, 35100 Bornova, Izmir, Turkey. eyigor@hotmail.com
The present study has been carried out to investigate the effects of group-based Turkish folkloric dances on physical performance, balance, depression and quality of life (QoL) in 40 healthy adult elderly females over the age of 65 years. Subjects were randomly allocated into Group 1 (folkloric dance-based exercise) and Group 2 (control). A 8-week dance-based exercise program was performed. Outcome measures included a 20-m walk test, a 6-min walk test, stair climbing and chair rise time, Berg balance scale (BBS), the Medical Outcomes Study (MOS) 36-item short form health survey (SF-36), and geriatric depression scale (GDS) questionnaires. In Group 1 statistically significant improvements were found in most of the physical performance tests, BBS and some SF-36 subscales after the exercise (p<0.05). In the Group 2 there was no clinically significant change in the variables. Comparing the groups, significant improvements in favor of Group 1 have emerged in most of the functional performance tests, in some of the SF-36 subscales and BBS score (p<0.05). We achieved improvements in physical performance, balance and QoL in elderly females. Application of folkloric dance specific to countries as an exercise program for elderly people may be helpful.
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