Keep dancin'! - dancing serves both a social and physical need for the elderly

Dance Magazine, Sept, 1998 by Marian Horosko

Physical activity has been encouraged on a national level since the 1950s. The Surgeon General's report, Physical Activity and Health, issued by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services in 1996, gives strong supporting evidence of the physical, psychological, and social benefits of exercise at every age.

PHYSICALLY

The Surgeon General's report of 1996 encourages men and women of every age to make physical activity a regular and sustainable part of their lives. The physiological benefits of exercise most widely appreciated are its effects on the cardiovascular and musculoskeletal systems, and on the functioning of metabolic, endocrine, and immune systems. Most encouraging is the finding that people of all ages, both male and female, undergo beneficial physiological adaptations to physical activity.

Recommendations from the ten major federal and nonfederal organizations that were partners in the report agree that physical activity--especially weight-bearing exercise, as in dancing--should be performed daily and regularly at a minimum of thirty minutes at moderate intensity, increasing gradually in endurance and intensity for greater benefits, and that this activity should include strength-developing exercises, such as using weights, at least twice each week for adults to improve musculoskeletal health. Muscular strength helps to maintain independence in performing the activities of daily life and reduces the risk of falling. (Jeanne Calment, of Arles, France, the longest-lived person on record, rode her bicycle every day, quit smoking at age 117, and passed away at age 122 in 1997.)

Exercise creates benefits similar to those of good nutrition. Physical activity appears to relieve symptoms of depression and anxiety and actually to improve one's mood. As every dancer knows, however, the benefits of exercise, such as endurance, may decrease daily when physical activity is substantially reduced; beneficial effects can begin to diminish within two weeks and can disappear completely within two to eight months if physical activity is not resumed.

Statistically, 22 percent of adults engage in physical exercise five times a week for at least thirty minutes while 15 percent engage in vigorous physical activity regularly three times a week for at least twenty minutes. The study reveals that the 25 percent who engage in no activity at all would benefit considerably by adding exercise to their weekly routine.

GERONTOLOGICALLY

Dr. Dorothy Fabian, Ed.D., a research gerontologist associated with the Hospital for Joint Diseases in New York City, describes the lessening functions to which the aging are prone: "Although all of these ailments depend to an extent upon genetic inheritance and may occur at any age to a greater or lesser degree, the most common manifestations are reduced flexibility, slower reflexes, shortness of breath, changes in balance, and discomfort or pain in joints. Other indications may include arthritis and osteoporosis, [males experience loss of bone density at a later age and to a lesser degree], seeing and hearing impairments, changes in elimination and digestion, memory slips [forgetting where you put house keys is okay; forgetting your name is cause for concern], and the more serious ailments concerning the body's organs."

Fabian recommends exercise to alleviate or improve functioning in these areas, except for seeing and hearing problems, which are not directly affected by exercise.

"Feet usually suffer," she says, "from claw-shaped hammer toes, as well as from bunions--a congenital condition--and there may be a change in the gait to walking side to side instead of straight forward, as a result of difficulty with balance.

"Many of the elderly," she continues, "suffer from depression or experience isolation and need the social interaction that comes with an exercise program."

What is a patient's frequent response to the suggestion of exercise? Fabian says they usually say it's "outrageous." Most patients cannot believe that physical exercise can help and think that it's too late in life to start a program more vigorous than walking. Inertia, depression, and a sedentary lifestyle can make enrolling in an exercise program at a community center or local "Y" seem too challenging.

PSYCHOLOGICALLY

Dr. Judith R. F. Kupersmith, M.D., psychiatrist, associate professor at Texas Tech School of Medicine, and former member of New York City Ballet, adds that the psychological rewards of physical activity are significant. "There is a positive body-brain connection," says Kupersmith, "that occurs as a result of physical exercise in the release of hormones--particularly the endorphins. These relieve stress, calm anxiety, and lessen depression. It has to be expected, at the later stages of life, that there will be losses, such as the death of a close person, changes in physical functioning, retirement from a career, or other forms of distress. Minor depression can be relieved through physical exercise. The normal reaction to grief should last only a few months. If, however, the loss is not acknowledged and depression persists, the reaction to the loss will be delayed and become more difficult to acknowledge. Prolonged depression should be investigated as a possible symptom of illness.