Skip to main content
x

Researchers from Emory University and the Georgia Institute of Technology have found that balance responses in people with Parkinson's disease (PD) are altered after a three-week Adapted Tango dance rehabilitation program. The study, published in the October issue of the Journal of Neurologic Physical Therapy, also show that the three–week program may be as effective as longer programs with similar amounts of class time. A video abstract is available on the journal website.

"Balance and gait speed of participants showed improvements that lasted for at least one month after the program ended," says Madeleine Hackney, PhD, assistant professor in the Emory University department of medicine and research scientist at the Atlanta VA Center for Visual and Neurocognitive Rehabilitation.

The authors tested participants in a laboratory with a custom-designed moving floor to see whether involuntary balance functions also improved after the program.

"We simulated slips using the moving floor to show that rehabilitative dance can change how the nervous system uses sensory information and muscles during balance," says Lena Ting, PhD, professor of rehabilitation medicine at Emory University and professor of biomedical engineering at Emory and Georgia Tech.

"While the study sample was small and did not include an untreated control group, it provides evidence that even a short intervention may benefit balance functions performed by deep parts of the brain and spinal cord," says J. Lucas McKay, PhD, MSCR, assistant professor of biomedical engineering at Emory and Georgia Tech.

The study was supported in part by NIH R21 HD075612-01, NSF EFRI 1137229, Tango Under the Tent, Inc., and by the Emory Udall Center.  

 

Emory Contact:

Robin Reese

404-727-9371

robin.j.reese@emory.edu


Georgia Tech:
Walter Rich

Communications Manager

Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering

Georgia Institute of Technology

 

 

Media Contact

Media Contact:

Walter Rich

Communications Manager

Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering

Georgia Institute of Technology

Keywords



Latest BME News

Georgia Tech authors reflect a rapidly evolving field in new edition highlighting real-world applications

 

Hands-on approach to teaching microfluidics is inspiring future innovators

In this edition of Ferst Exchange, Coulter BME's Aniruddh Sarkar explains the science.

Georgia Tech researchers uncover the role of lateral inhibition in enhancing contrast and filtering distractions, with implications for neuroscience and AI.

Graduate BME students are tackling heart disease and training to become leaders and innovators in cardiovascular research

BME undergrad is first student from Coulter department and one of three from Georgia Tech to earn aerospace honor

Coulter BME researchers develop 3D-printed, bioresorbable heart valve, potentially eliminating the need for repeated surgeries.