A Safe and Feasible Online Dance Intervention for Older Adults With and Without Parkinson's Disease.

Introduction: Dancing is one way of maintaining an active lifestyle, and online dance interventions in group settings can be a solution when in-person classes are impossible. This study investigated the feasibility and potential clinical effects of an online dance program for older adults with and without Parkinson disease (PD). Methods: Participants attended 2 weekly dance classes in the same videoconference room for 2 months. The dance activities were mainly performed while seated (around 75%). Researchers monitored feasibility (ie, adherence, attendance, and technological barriers) and safety. Pre- and post-intervention assessments investigated self-perceptions, effects on emotional domains, quality of life, activity-specific balance confidence, lower-limb functional mobility, and PD non-motor symptoms. Individuals also reported their self-perceptions regarding technology usability, enjoyment, and social interaction. Results: Most of the participants with PD (n = 12) had moderate PD (Hoehn & Yahr score) and presented a greater risk of falls when compared to participants without PD (n = 14). Overall, we found a high rate of adherence (100%), attendance (87.5%-91.7%), and safety (100%) for both groups. No falls or near-falls occurred during the sessions. Only the PD group ameliorated emotional domains (anxiety and depression) and improved lower-limb functional mobility. All participants reported feeling safe and perceived benefits, although over a third of older adults with PD reported moderate difficulties in using technology and in socializing with the group. Conclusion: This online dance protocol is feasible, safe, and a potential strategy to improve clinical parameters in older adults and people with moderate PD.

Effects of dance on gait and dual-task gait in Parkinson's disease.

BACKGROUND: Gait impairments in Parkinson's disease (PD) limit independence and quality of life. While dance-based interventions could improve gait, further studies are needed to determine if the benefits generalise to different terrains and when dual-tasking. The aim was to assess the effects of a dance intervention, based on the Dance for PD® (DfPD®) program, on gait under different dual-tasks (verbal fluency, serial subtraction) and surfaces (even, uneven), and to determine if a larger scale follow-up RCT is warranted. METHODS: A dance group (DG; n = 17; age = 65.8 ± 11.7 years) and a control group (CG: n = 16; age = 67.0 ± 7.7 years) comprised of non-cognitively impaired (Addenbrooke's score: DG = 93.2 ± 3.6, CG = 92.6 ± 4.3) independently locomoting people with PD (Hoehn & Yahr I-III). The DG undertook a one-hour DfPD®-based class, twice weekly for 12 weeks. The CG had treatment as usual. The spatiotemporal variables of gait were assessed at baseline and post-intervention while walking on two surfaces (even, uneven) under three conditions: regular walking; dual-task: verbal-fluency (DTVERB), and serial-subtraction (DTSUBT). The data were analysed by means of a linear mixed model. RESULTS: At baseline, there was no significant group difference for any spatiotemporal gait variable. The DG improved significantly compared to the CG with and without a dual task when walking on even surface. During regular walking, DG improved in gait velocity (p = 0.017), cadence (p = 0.039), step length (p = 0.040) and stride length (p = 0.041). During DTVERB significant improvements were noted in gait velocity (p = 0.035), cadence (p = 0.034) and step length (p = 0.039). The DG also exhibited significant improvement compared to the CG during DTSUBT in the measures of gait velocity (p = 0.012), cadence (p = 0.021), step length (p = 0.018), and stride length (p = 0.151). On the uneven surface, improvements were noted when walking while performing serial subtractions only. During regular walking, improvements were noted for the CG but not for the DG. CG has spent less time in double support following the intervention than DG. While DTVERB condition had no significant group differences for any gait parameter (p's >0.05), in the DTSUBT condition, the DG improved significantly compared to the controls on gait velocity (p = 0.048), cadence (p = 0.026), and step length (p = 0.051). CONCLUSIONS: DfPD®-based classes produced clinically significant improvement in spatiotemporal gait parameters under dual-task conditions and on uneven surfaces. This could arise from improved movement confidence and coordination; emotional expression; cognitive skills (planning, multitasking), and; utilisation of external movement cues. A large-scale RCT of this program is warranted. TRIAL REGISTRATION: A protocol for this study has been registered retrospectively at the Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry. Identifier: ACTRN12618001834246.

Effects of Dance on Gait, Cognition, and Dual-Tasking in Parkinson's Disease: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Dance-based interventions have been proposed for the management of Parkinson's disease (PD) symptoms. This review critically appraises and synthesises the research on the effects of dance interventions on gait, cognition and dual-tasking in PD, through a meta-analysis of peer-reviewed literature from seven databases. Eligible studies included people with PD, used a parallel-group or cohort design with a dance-based intervention, reported outcome measures of gait, cognition or dual-tasking, and were published in English up until September 2017. Of the initial 1079 articles, 677 articles were reviewed for eligibility, and 25 articles were retained. Only 12 articles had sufficient common assessment items for meta-analysis. Two independent reviewers extracted the data and assessed the risk of bias of each study using the Cochrane risk-of-bias tool. Based on pre-post change scores, gait speed, Timed Up and Go (TUG) test performance, freezing of gait questionnaire, and six-minute walk test times significantly improved after a dance intervention compared to controls. Global cognition assessed with Montreal Cognitive Assessment, and cognitive dual-tasking measured using dual-task TUG, also exhibited greater improvement in dance groups. There was limited evidence to determine the most effective intensity, frequency, duration of dance interventions or the most beneficial music. Findings must be interpreted cautiously because of the lack of randomised control trials, and the moderate to high risk of bias of studies. However, the results of papers with level-I and level-II.1 evidence suggest that dance may have the potential to ameliorate PD symptoms, particularly gait, global cognition and cognitive dual-tasking.