Key Benefits Of Dance

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Balance one of the most commonly cited benefits of dance for older people is an improvement in balance. Balance, mobility and fear of falling are major factors associated with the risk of falling in older people. dance studies have shown improvements in balance either in general or in association with specific conditions such as parkinson’s disease. improved balance arising from dance has been found in studies of jazz dance, argentine tango, caribbean dance and social dance. a group of older social dancers from the Bronx, who were studied, averaged 80 years of age, danced on average four days per month, and had a median length of time dancing of 30 years. The group was matched with a control group of older non-dancers and, although no differences were observed in cognition and strength between the two groups, the older social dancers showed better balance and had longer steps and strides reflecting a better walking pattern. dance has also been shown to improve ‘balance confidence’ associated with a reduced risk of falls. The fear of falling in itself causes an increased risk of falling so improvements in ‘balance confidence’ can be as important as improvements in balance itself in reducing the risk of falls. Strength and gait evidence of the positive effect of dance programmes on strength and gait is less strong than for improvements in balance. The study of social dancers in the Bronx above, while finding no difference in the strength of older social dancers, did observe better stance and gait than that of the non-dancers. improving strength may not be a focus of dance, but dance classes can be designed to promote strength. in a 2008 study of the effects of argentine tango, a group of adults aged more than 60 years who had sustained a fall in the last year and reported a fear of
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