Parkinson’s Disease (PD) is a chronic and on-going movement disorder that worsens over time.
People with Parkinson’s suffer with low activity levels, poor mobility and have a reduced quality of life so it is vital that clients, especially those early in the disease, work on their strength and balance. Physical exercise can be a lot of effort for people in general but for those who have Parkinson’s, it’s a challenge. It is important to find activities that are engaging and enjoyable so therefore a study was carried out to see if dancing was more beneficial compared to standard routine physiotherapy for people with mild to moderately severe PD. These dance classes are called set dancing for Parkinson’s which incorporates elements such as rhythmical music, fast movements, dancing with partners and step routines.
Parkinson’s Ireland is holding a set dancing demonstration in the Mary Aikenhead Centre, Brookvale Road, Donnybrook, Dublin 4 on Thursday 20th February at 2pm. Pat O’Dea will demonstrate the basics of set dancing, outlining the physical benefits to people with Parkinson’s. Pat O’Dea told NewsFour, “A lot of these set dances and formats will help with their everyday living, their coordination and their balance.”
Pat also runs ongoing classes in Dublin for people living with Parkinson’s. These classes take place every Wednesday in The Red Cow at 10.30am.
For more information about the set dancing demonstration log onto www.parkinsons.ie
By Donna Dunne
