Dance, a good move for people with Parkinson's

Vlemmix's first reaction was to ignore the illness, which he did for two years, until he could hardly move anymore. But then he stumbled upon a way to improve his physical and psychological well-being by using the one resource to which he had unlimited access - dance.

The results were so positive that, together with his dance instructor, he founded Dance for Health and Parkinson's, a programme to help others like him. There are now 20 cities in the Netherlands running classes, with others in Italy, and more starting in Germany and Australia.

Dany Mitzman attended a Dance for Health open workshop in the north Italian town of Bassano del Grappa and has this week's Audio Story.

#link:https://soundcloud.com/deutsche-welle-in-english/dance-a-good-move-for-people-with-parkinsons:SoundCloud - Dance, a good move for people with Parkinson's#

It's not just dance - but other forms of physical activity - such as cycling, which can also help people with Parkinson's.

Spectrum host Jessie Wingard is joined by Professor of Neurology Bas Bloem, a consultant neurologist at the Department of Neurology at the Radboud University Medical Centre in the Netherlands, to talk about how Parkinson's patients can benefit from other forms of movement.

#link:https://soundcloud.com/deutsche-welle-in-english/parkinsons-patients-reap-benefits-of-sport:SoundCloud - Parkinson’s patients reap benefits of sport#