Dance and movement therapy
Dance and movement therapy is enjoyable and a form of exercise, and small trials hint at better quality of life and mood in women with breast cancer, but a Cochrane review found too little evidence to judge whether it helps beyond that.
Overview
Dance and movement therapy uses guided movement with a trained therapist to express emotion and improve body awareness. A 2015 Cochrane review identified only three small randomised trials, all in women with breast cancer, and found insufficient evidence for effects on depression, stress, anxiety, fatigue or body image, with a possible improvement in quality of life of uncertain size. As physical activity, dance shares the general benefits of exercise on fitness and fatigue, which are well established; as a specific therapy its added value is untested. It carries little risk in people cleared for moderate exercise.
How it works
Movement to music combines aerobic activity, social contact and creative expression, each of which has its own evidence for wellbeing.
- Enjoyable, promotes adherence to activity
- No safety concerns beyond those of exercise
- Three small trials only
- No robust outcome data
- Not covered in oncology guidelines
Latest papers
topQuery for this technology: (TITLE:"Dance and movement therapy" OR ABSTRACT:"Dance and movement therapy") AND (cancer OR tumor OR tumour OR oncology OR carcinoma OR lymphoma OR leukemia OR leukaemia OR myeloma OR sarcoma OR melanoma OR glioma). Results are unfiltered search hits about Dance and movement therapy, not a curated reading list.
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