Feasibility and preliminary efficacy of a telerehabilitation approach to group adapted tango instruction for people with Parkinson disease

Abstract

People with Parkinson disease (PD) demonstrate improvements in motor function following group tango classes, but report long commutes as a barrier to participation. To increase access, we investigated a telerehabilitation approach to group tango instruction. Twenty-six people with mild-to-moderate PD were assigned based on commute distance to either the telerehabilitation group (Telerehab) or an in-person instruction group (In-person). Both groups followed the same twice-weekly, 12-week curriculum with the same instructor. Feasibility metrics were participant retention, attendance and adverse events. Outcomes assessed were balance, PD motor sign severity and gait. Participant retention was 85% in both groups. Attendance was 87% in the Telerehab group and 84% in the In-person group. No adverse events occurred. Balance and motor sign severity improved significantly over time ( p < 0.001) in both groups, with no significant group × time effects. Gait did not significantly change. Since a priori feasibility criteria were met or exceeded, and there were no notable outcome differences between the two instruction approaches, this pilot study suggests a telerehabilitation approach to group tango class for people with PD is feasible and may have similar outcomes to in-person instruction.

Effects of dance on gait and dual-task gait in Parkinson’s disease

“…The present study is the rst evaluation of the DfPD ® approach using spatiotemporal gait parameters. When compared to other PD dance programs with similar measures, most of which used gait velocity only [14,16,20,23,27,28,31,65], our ndings are consistent with two studies [20,31] while three studies showed no change [14,16,27]. Importantly, the improvement in gait velocity in our study was also clinically signi cant [66].…”

“…Only one dance-style (Argentine Tango) showed a dual-task gait bene t on the TUG [14,19,20]. Further, a limited number of studies, mostly using Argentine Tango [14,16,20,[24][25][26][27][28], have examined effects using spatiotemporal gait variables such as velocity, cadence, and swing, stride and double support percentage [14,16,20,[23][24][25][26][27][28][29], and only one of these parameters (gait velocity) has been tested whilst dual-tasking [16,20]. There have been mixed ndings from dance-based interventions with these ner-grained gait measures; however, three studies demonstrated a bene t on selected parameters [cadence, backward stride length, swing and stance percentage; [15,22,29]].…”

Environment, lifestyle, and Parkinson's disease: Implications for prevention in the next decade

“…In the next 10 years, will see innovations in telehealth, which should improve accessibility. Some recent examples of promising telehealth interventions in PD include tele‐monitored home exercise and a tele‐health approach to group tango instruction …”

The efficacy of dance for improving motor impairments, non-motor symptoms, and quality of life in Parkinson’s disease: A systematic review and meta-analysis

“…Several systematic reviews and meta-analyses on dance and PD have been published over the past decade [ 13 , 28 – 30 ], with some focusing specifically on one dance style, such as Argentine tango [ 31 ], and others on specific outcomes, such as gait and cognition [ 32 ] or non-motor symptoms [ 19 ]. Since the most recent comprehensive systematic reviews of the literature, a number of studies investigating novel dance interventions [ 33 – 37 ] and novel outcomes [ 35 , 38 – 40 ] have been published. There is thus a need to combine new evidence with previous research to provide a more comprehensive picture of the efficacy of this multifaceted intervention on motor and non-motor symptoms in PD.…”