A Multi-Faceted Intervention

We know that the physical, mental and emotional benefits of exercise have long been established. Now, there is a group of medical and allied health professionals in the Philippines who are taking dancing to a whole new level. This multi-disciplinary group of professionals is exploring “dance therapy” as an approach to support seniors with mild cognitive impairment (MCI), a known precursor to dementia.

Dance Therapy in the Philippines

In the Philippines, the number of dementia patients is expected to reach 100 million by 2050. A dance therapy program called “INDAK” or Improving Neurocognition through Dance and Kinesthetics, was launched in 2016 at the St. Luke’s Medical Center in the Philippines.

This home-based program is based on the principle of using a combination of dance recall, exercise, lively music and physical movements. We believe it will improve and/or maintain good memory and reduce depression. Being a home-based program, this intervention may extend its benefits among family caregivers as well. When we use this as a form of family-bonding activity, this may also help prevent or reduce the impact of stress and depression through the natural benefits of exercise.

INDAK, in the local language, also means, “rhythm,” specifically, as it relates to dancing. This program consists of 8 modules incorporating various forms of ballroom dance from Salsa to the Cha-Cha (a genre of dancing most familiar with this senior population). As a preventative approach, the hope is to catch those who are at risk of developing dementia fairly early by improving their psycho-physiological well-being of all participants with MCI.

The Benefits of Dance Therapy

The benefits discovered in this program were highlighted in a 2018 study published by Current Alzheimer Research. They explained the marked improvements in cognitive functioning among the dance therapy intervention group (participants of INDAK). Similar results were echoed in a study published by the Journals of Gerontology. Here they found that subjects who had participated in dance therapy also “showed significant decreases in depression, loneliness and negative mood.”