Ballet dance program en pointe for rehabilitation patients

Allied health, orthopaedic, neurological, rehabilitation and geriatric clinicians were invited to attend one of two modified dance sessions held at Mackay Base Hospital to understand how ballet can support their patient’s health and wellbeing.

The specially designed dance rehabilitation programs, offered by the Van Norton Li Community Health Institute (a division of Queensland Ballet), showcased the strength, mobility and balance benefits dance has to offer.

Mackay Hospital and Health Service (HHS) Acting Director Medical Services Research and Innovation Dr Pieter Nel said research suggested dance could improve cognitive performance and reaction times, making it a useful treatment for a number of conditions.

The Dance Health programs were underpinned by medical research and provide a ballet program designed for patients in a hospital setting. The programs showcased in Mackay are examples of how modified dance classes can be  useful treatments for a number of conditions including arthritis, dementia, brain injuries, depression and Parkinson’s disease, Dr Nel said.

The two 60-minute dance rehabilitation classes were held on Tuesday 23 July from 7.30am to 9.30am and were followed by an information session at 2pm in the Brampton Room at K Block at Mackay Base Hospital.

The sessions provided clinicians in the Mackay HHS the opportunity to consider using dance as a tool to enrich lives and positively impact the health and wellbeing of patients, Dr Nel said.

The Queensland Ballet received $750,000 in funding from Queensland Health to sustain and deliver a range of Dance Health programs through the Van Norton Li Community Health Institute. These include Dance for Parkinson’s, Ballet for Brain Injury, Dance for Arthritis, Dance Rehab and Ballet Serene (modified dance classes in aged-care settings).

The modified dance programs were designed to help understand how dance affects health and wellbeing, develop partnerships in regional communities, supply unique training opportunities for health professionals and look for ways to make dance more accessible.