A systematic review of active group-based dance, singing, music therapy and theatrical interventions for quality of life, functional communication, speech, motor function and cognitive status in people with Parkinson’s disease

Abstract

Background Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a common neurodegenerative condition associated with a wide range of motor and non-motor symptoms. There has been increasing interest in the potential benefit of performing arts as a therapeutic medium in PD. While there have been previous reviews, none have considered all performing arts modalities and most have focused on dance. This systematic review examined the potential benefit of all active group-based performing arts interventions for quality of life, functional communication, speech, motor function and cognitive status. Methods Searches were conducted in February 2020 on five scholarly databases. Supplementary searches were conducted. Included studies were quantitative in design, and assessed the potential benefit of any active group-based performing arts intervention for quality of life, functional communication, speech, motor function or cognitive status in people with PD. Full text papers were eligible for inclusion, as were conference abstracts since January 2018. Screening, data extraction, narrative synthesis and quality assessment were conducted independently by two reviewers. Quality assessment used the SURE checklists. Results Fifty-six studies were eligible for inclusion in this systematic review, reported in 67 publications. Published from 1989 to 2020, these studies included a total of 1531 people with PD from 12 countries, and covered four broad performing arts modalities: dance, singing, music therapy and theatre. Dance remains the most commonly studied performing arts modality for PD (38 studies), while there were 12 studies on singing interventions, four on music therapy, and only two on theatrical interventions. There was evidence for a beneficial effect of all four performing arts modalities on at least some outcome domains. Conclusions This is the first systematic review to assess the potential benefit of all active group-based performing arts interventions in PD. The evidence suggests that performing arts may be a useful therapeutic medium in PD. However, a substantial limitation of the evidence base is that no studies compared interventions from different performing arts modalities. Moreover, not all performing arts modalities were assessed for all outcome domains. Therefore it is not currently possible to determine which performing arts modalities are most beneficial for which specific outcomes.

Online Dance Therapy for People With Parkinson’s Disease: Feasibility and Impact on Consumer Engagement

“…The over-arching theme to emerge from this trial was that online therapeutic dancing has impact and is enjoyable, safe and feasible for people in the early stages of PD. In agreement with global studies showing the benefits of ‘face to face’ dancing for people with chronic progressive neurological conditions, 20,39-43 the participants in this study reported that online dance therapy enabled them to connect with others and engage in structured physical activity that was of benefit to health and well-being.…”

Study protocol: randomised controlled hybrid type 2 trial evaluating the scale-up of two arts interventions for postnatal depression and Parkinson’s disease

“…Additionally, PD-Ballet can decrease social isolation and improve quality of life,22 with participants highly motivated and viewing PD-Ballet as an important part of their lives 27. Equally, while recent systematic reviews and studies on the effects of performing acts modalities (including dance and ballet) reported promising benefits on Parkinson’s symptoms45 46 very few RCTs have investigated the benefits of ‘dance’ in both motor and non-motor symptoms, pointing to the need for this research.…”

Musiktherapie in der Neurorehabilitation

“…Hierbei wird eine rhythmische Stimulation, meist durch ein Metronom, zur therapeutischen Manipulation der Sprechrate genutzt. Auch für die Behandlung der Dysarthrophonie bei Parkinson kommt das therapeutische Singen zur Anwendung [23]. Für das Atemtraining nutzen Musiktherapeuten einfach zu handhabende Blasinstrumente wie Melodika, Mundharmonika und Kazoo.…”