Fourteen patients and their partners and staff from the Department of Rheumatology are about to complete their 6-week ballroom class. Over the weeks they will have taken an additional 12,000 steps and exercised for around extra 5.5 hours.
Claire Jeffries, Rheumatology Specialist, Physiotherapist and Hydrotherapy Manager, points out that there are many health benefits of dancing: “it’s great for people of all ages, shapes and sizes”.
Dancing offers a wide range of physical and mental benefits:
- improved condition of your heart and lungs
- increased muscular tone, strength, endurance and motor fitness
- increased aerobic fitness
- weight management
- stronger bones and reduced risk of osteoporosis
- better coordination, balance, agility and flexibility
- increased physical confidence
- improved mental functioning and psychological wellbeing
- greater self-confidence and self-esteem
The Department of Rheumatology would encourage people living with Arthritis and connective tissue diseases to consider dance as a form of activity.…
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