Dance therapy for Parkinson’s disease: a systematic review

Abstract Introduction: Dance therapy has rapidly gained popularity among patients with Parkinson’s disease because it is an enjoyable form of exercise and can provide multi-dimensional benefits. Clinical studies have shown that dance improves motor symptoms, particularly balance and mobility problems, as well as the overall physical condition of Parkinson’s patients. Purpose: The aim of this paper is to highlight the benefits of dance therapy in the clinical management of parkinsonian patients and also to find out which dance is the most advantageous for use in therapy and whether the type of dance used leads to significantly different results. Methods: This paper is a systematic and topical review. After a keyword search, 20 articles on dance therapy in Parkinson’s disease were selected according to the PRISMA model, using Google Scholar and Pubmed as search engines. Results: As a form of physical exercise, dance incorporates vigorous movement, social interaction and cognitive stimulation. Studies have shown that dance can reduce tremor, bradykinesia and stiffness, increasing forward speed and multi-tasking gait. At the same time, spontaneous balance disturbances improved and the risk of falls decreased. Argentine Tango is the most widely used dance in therapy. Although other forms of dance used in research led to significant changes, tango dance was found to produce changes of greater value. However, all types of dance achieved positive results in terms of physical, motor and psycho-emotional aspects of patients. Conclusion: Dance therapy is a feasible and safe method for the rehabilitation of parkinsonian patients, brings improvements in motor and non-motor signs of Parkinson’s disease and practiced for at least 12 months regularly, slows down the progression of the disease.