THE EFFECT OF A MODIFIED JAZZ DANCE CLASS ON BALANCE IN OLDER WOMEN.

Abstract

Purpose/Hypothesis: The purpose of this study was to assess the impact of age-appropriate jazz dance class instruction on balance for women utilizing dynamic posturography. Subjects: Fourteen healthy elderly women aged from 52 to 88 participated in the study. All were a sample of convenience of volunteers recruited from a Senior Dance Techniques course offered by the Department of Dance at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Materials/Methods: The subjects completed a 15-week jazz dance program in which the subjects attended one time per week for 50 minutes in duration. Baseline balance data were collected through the use of the Sensory Organization Test (SOT) as administered using the NeuroCom Smart® Balance Master System (Balance Master) during weeks 1 and 2 of the class. The second measurement was recorded between weeks 7 and 8 and the final measurement was taken after week 15 of the class. Means and standard deviations were calculated for the outcome variables. A repeated measures ANOVA was used to compare the means of each subjects' SOT composite equilibrium score over the 3 measurement time frames. The composite equilibrium score reflects the overall performance on the SOT and is the sum of all 6 conditions. Alpha levels were set at 0.05. Results: There was a statistically significant difference among the mean SOT composite equilibrium scores (F(2,22) = 23.185) for pre, mid, and post time intervals as follows: Pre= 67.333, SD= 10.430; Mid= 75.250, SD= 6.969; Post= 79.000, SD= 4.973, (p<0.0005). Pairwise (Bonferroni) post-hoc analyses revealed the following statistically significant findings for SOT composite equilibrium scores for the pre, mid, and post measurements: Pre-Mid (p= 0.008); Pre-Post (p< 0.0005); Mid-Post (p= 0.033). Conclusions: The results of this study suggest that administration of a jazz dance program as an alternative to a traditional exercise program is beneficial in improving balance as measured by the Balance Master. Future research should consider the comparison of different exercise or dance groups and larger sample sizes. Clinical Relevance: Many elderly may not have the opportunity or desire to perform an exercisebased program. Since many elderly experience a loss of stability, they seek to compensate by restricting their activity levels, thereby avoiding falling. However, given the social proclivity of elderly individuals, many do find dance as an attractive alternative to an exercise regimen. The findings from this study reveal that dance-based training is beneficial in improving balance, which may help to decrease fall risk.