Parkinson's Sufferers Get Their Groove Back Through Dance
 

An example of conscious movement that works vs unconsious automatic movement that is disabled:

http://70.47.124.114/node/226


"When an innovative program brought together professional dancers and people with Parkinson’s at the Mark Morris Dance Center in 2001, Neesemann jumped at the chance.......

......“When you’re learning a new movement, you have to think about it,” said Westheimer, who has studied dance since childhood. “You train your muscles and your body, but you really dance with your mind.”....

...“When you throw them a ball, they catch it. But when you ask them to grab the handle on the subway, they can’t do it,” said Dr. Ivan Bodis-Wollner, director of the Clinical Center of Excellence for Parkinson’s Disease at Kings County Hospital/SUNY Downstate Medical Center. Bodis-Wollner is Westheimer's husband.

A dancer’s conscious effort to make his body move can provide a model for restoring these functions. “In dancing, the instructors are teaching them to conceive of how they are going to move their arm before they move it,” Bodis-Wollner said.

For the Mark Morris Dance Group, the collaboration was an opportunity to expand its community outreach. The administration lends its support to the Parkinson’s program and pays for rehearsal space and staff....

Hi,

But wouldn't it be exhausting/would it be possible to be conscious about how you move all the time? There are PwPs practising Tai-Chi, where I suppose you gain conscience of your movements, and who don't get a lot of help from it -or maybe it has more to do with knowing EXACTLY what you are doing when you practise Tai-Chi, and keep it in mind all the time... what do you think about that?

Greetings
Karine

I bet it's a temporary effect. Like posters here have said their symptoms disappear with they dance. But the effect stops when the dancing stops.

The benefit of dance may also have alot to do with the music. Music therapy alone works for PWP. I think it helps organize the brain.

I doubt that learning dance steps will carry over to daily life in a big way.

BUT, people do walking meditation, where they are conscious of all of their movements. It's as effective as transendental meditation. I think that would be of help to PWP.

Mind over matter of health
 

Dear Z,
how are you? love this post...
I must add - sometimes to get myself -from taking baby steps - I run!
I have showed this to a famous Neurosurgeon -and it scared him that I would fall -but he thought it was remarkable!
and there is away to make endorphins, usually through a happy thinking and
the ability to never "BOX" ourselves in to the bad thoughts, the stress mode,
stress is bad for everyone - so we must pray or meditate on whatever is good!

We all have good and bad days -I have to make the most out of my good minutes or days!
Still I believe we have a choice to have - HOPE
a small matter of choice, in the long run -helps immensely... :)
gotta go - Dancin' with the starz is on!

a song and dance woman?
 

If I'm feeling a bit gimpy walking to work in the morning (often a bit late, so I need to move it!), I start singing and that makes me move right along, much more smoothly. And if I can't get my foot to move quickly enough to the side, I hop. Funny that we can do that kind of thing, but can't walk properly,eh?

Hello,

ZucchiniFlower wrote:

Yes, I think that can only be good for any condition, and PWP as well, especially. And dancing provides exercise, which can be good in the long term, see Rick's post :

http://forums.braintalk2.org/showthread.php?t=1462
"Everyone talks about it"

CTenaLouise wrote:

Yes, I know someone who does that too. He sways or walks very poorly, falls, gets up and runs off, or runs rather than walks because that works while walking give him hard times. I just picture peoples' faces :cool:

See you
Karine

Some observations
 

As you can see from my name this post really interests me as my husband (PWP) and I have always been keen energetic traditional dancers.(30+ years)That includes the kind of dancing you see on picture postcards...men in white, waving sticks or hankies.When he first presented symptoms I feared it would be the end of playing music and dancing.Alright, he has only been diagnosed two years and without Requp he loses his lift but the music carries him and while dancing he, at present, looks better than many 64 year olds.
The playing of the accordian is also interesting.He has always played by ear : most traditional muscians do.If he knows the tune and has played it before he has no trouble but if it is a tune he has not played before and is trying to join in, which is something he used to do with ease ,he can no longer do it .Luckily over 30 + years he knows hundreds if not thousands of tunes.