Elsevier

Geriatric Nursing

Volume 35, Issue 5, September–October 2014, Pages 339-344
Geriatric Nursing

Feature Article
Does dance-based therapy increase gait speed in older adults with chronic lower extremity pain: A feasibility study

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gerinurse.2014.03.008Get rights and content

Abstract

A decreased gait speed in older adults can lead to dependency when the individuals are no longer able to participate in activities or do things for themselves. Thirty-seven senior apartment residents (31 females; Mean age = 80.6 years; SD = 8.9) with lower extremity pain/stiffness participated in a feasibility and preliminary efficacy study of 12 weeks (24 sessions). Healthy-Steps dance therapy compared to a wait-list control group. Small improvements in gait speed ([ES] = 0.33) were noted for participants completing 19–24 dance sessions. Improvements in gait speed measured by a 10 Meter Walk Test (0.0517 m/s) exceeded 0.05 m/s, a value deemed to be meaningful in community dwelling older adults. These feasibility study findings support the need for additional research using dance-based therapy for older adults with lower extremity pain.

Section snippets

Design

This study used a two-group pretest-posttest 12 week (24 sessions) Healthy-Steps intervention with a wait-list control group. The wait-list control group did not participate in the dance sessions during the study but continued normal activity and had an opportunity to participate in Healthy-Steps dance sessions after all of the posttest data were collected.

For this study, a specialty team of certified Healthy-Steps instructors (nurses, physical therapist, and music therapist) created a

Measures

Descriptive information collected at baseline included age, gender, race, marital status, education, living situation, employment and volunteer status, income, chronic conditions (including arthritis), and use of an assistive device. Participants reported the presence of pain/stiffness (Yes/No) at baseline and post-intervention on the Functional Pain Scale (FPS),18 and recorded what pain medications they were taking at baseline and post-intervention. Gait speed measurements were completed at

Participant characteristics

Thirty-seven senior apartment residents age range 62–93 (31 females; Mean age = 80.6 years; SD = 8.9) were randomized to 12 weeks (24 sessions) of Healthy-Steps dance-based therapy or wait-list control. Three participants dropped out because of non-study related medical issues. The resulting total was 34 participants: dance group (n = 19); wait-list control group (n = 15). All of the participants were White. The baseline characteristics of the groups were similar with the average age of the

Discussion

This pilot study confirmed the feasibility and preliminary efficacy of a 12-week (24 sessions) dance based-therapy intervention for older adults with self-reported lower extremity pain/stiffness. Participants initially agreed to participate in the dance sessions and continued to attend throughout the 12 weeks, with no complaints of pain during the sessions and no adverse effects reported. This study was not designed to test formal statistical hypotheses, thus the analyses and findings are

Conclusions

Healthy-Steps dance-based therapy is a feasible option with preliminary efficacy for increasing gait speed for older adults with lower extremity pain/stiffness. The retention success during the study and the translation of dance therapy to regular programming at the facility following the study demonstrates older adults will attend sessions; this intervention has sustainability. These are promising outcomes to inform future research.

Acknowledgments

This study was funded by the University of Iowa Hartford Center for Geriatric Nursing Excellence Grant, Saint Louis University School of Nursing, and Sigma Theta Tau International Delta Lamda Ann Perry New Investigator Award. The study team appreciates the guidance from Dr. Helen Lach.

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