Positive step for those with Parkinson’s
Imagine having only scattergun control over your body’s movements and living with the constant uncertainty that at any moment your leg might freeze or your hand begin to shake uncontrollably?
La Trobe University, in conjunction with dance researchers at the University of Melbourne, are at the centre of breakthrough trials using dance to assist alleviating some Parkinson’s symptoms. World renowned expert on the condition, La Trobe’s Professor Meg Morris, is helping lead a global study into its healing effects.
Parkinson’s disease is a degenerative neurological disorder affecting a person’s ability to control their body’s movements. It is triggered from a deficiency in dopamine – a neurotransmitter necessary for regulating smooth motor skills.
Symptoms may develop slowly, but inevitably intensify over time. They vary between individuals and are helped by drug treatment.
From Venice to Victoria – from contemporary dance to tango, classes are helping ‘unlock’ Parkinson’s symptoms and allow participants to move more freely. They relax and the mental health benefits of being part of the group are reportedly huge for them and their partners.
“I have many moving stories of participants who shuffle into the studio, put on a costume, hear the music then transform into dancers,” Professor Morris said.
“When we put on the music and ask them to dance, they’re less rigid. Likewise if we ask them to sing in time with the music, they are able do that. A lot can be done through physical activity and exercise.”
The Dancing for Parkinson’s Project is run with a growing consortium of people worldwide. Professor Morris collaborates with colleague Dr Daniele Volpe in Venice, Italy, Dr Samrya Keus in Amsterdam and Dr Amanda Clifford in Limerick, Ireland. The Michael J Fox Foundation has also helped support her research.
“They say Parkinson’s is the gift that keeps taking, it just keeps taking; but in some of the dance classes for a moment, the symptoms ease and it’s like magic,” Professor Morris said.
“Ordinary people transform and the dancing can bring hope. Imagine a couple who’ve been together 40 years and living with this for a decade? To be able to dance together is really special. I remember at a class at a hall in East Brunswick, the woman had been coming learning tango and at the last lesson, her husband joined in and they danced together. It was the most moving thing.”
