Tango helps in improving balance and mobility. People having Parkinson’s disease when took part in the regular “tango dance” classes for a period of twenty days demonstrated significant improvements in their mobility and balance. The outcomes were more significant as the rate of improvements was much better compared to the he results obtained by regular conventional exercise schedules in same people.

Researchers at the Washington university school of Medicine’ in St. Louis made a thorough comparison of the effects of “Argentine tango dance “classes with the “functional mobility” classes among 19 participants who were suffering from the Parkinson’s disease. Findings of the study have also been published in detail in the “Journal of Neurologic Physical Therapy”.

Parkinson’s disease, a disorder that affects nerve cells of a particular region in the brain helping in the muscle movement controls. These nerve cells are responsible for making the ‘neuro-transmitter dopamine’ dead or impaired functionally, and resulting in shaking of hands, arms, legs, jaw and face. It also causes stiffness in the arms, legs and trunk. Movement gets slow and balance gets disturbed and it results ultimately in poor coordination of body parts. People with such disorder have greater risks of falling and freezing.

The researchers designed different exercise packages for all the 19 participants .An assignment included 20 one –hour sessions with the “Argentinean Tango dancing” and the other assignment group was instructed to be busy with ‘strength and flexibility exercise. A prior and post assessment was also conducted for each participant.

The “Argentinean tango dance” sessions contained stretching, balance exercises, tango-style walking, footwork patterns, experimenting with timing of steps to music and dancing with and without a partner. On the other hand, regular “Mobility Function” exercise sessions contained 40 minutes of seated exercise followed by standing exercises with the help of a chair and core strengthening and stretching.

It was observed that both the groups demonstrated considerable improvements on the “Unified Parkinson’s Disease Rating Scale Motor Subscale 3”. It is an overall severity measurement on the ‘movement’ parameters.

Participants who took the “Argentinean Tango Dance Classes” showed much improvement on the” Berg Balance Scale”, measuring the balance in different positions. Such types of improvements were not that prominent in the group that took the regular “mobility Function” exercise sessions. The “tango group” showed an inclination towards improving in the “Timed Up and Go (TUG) Test”, measuring the functional mobility rising from a chair, walking a short distance, turning and returning to the chair.

“Tango is feasible for individuals with Parkinson’s disease and may be an appropriate and effective form of group exercise for individuals with Parkinson’s”, said Dr.Gammon M. Earhart .The “Argentinean Tango dance” involves many movement related aspects that are very relevant for the patients with its relevance in dynamic balance, turning, initiation of movement, moving at a variety of speeds and walking backward.
This study also strengthens the belief that dances in general helps in improving the functional mobility.

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