Published on February 28, 2013 at 10:11 AM
"DDR requires a lot of cognitive processing. Players must look at a screen and time their movements to the arrows on the screen," said research team member, Nora Fritz, DPT. "Incorporating DDR into standard MS treatments has the potential to improve balance, walking, cognition and motivation."
Fritz recently received a supplementary grant from the CCTS to expand the work started by Kloos, and is being mentored by both Dr. Kloos and Deborah Larsen, PhD, PT, Director of the Ohio State School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences. With the additional funding, Fritz will investigate the differences in dual tasking abilities between individuals with MS and healthy controls and whether playing DDR will improve dual tasking abilities.
Many people diagnosed with MS feel as though they have been given a life sentence of incapacitation. Kloos and Fritz are looking to restore hope and improve the quality of life for patients suffering from this disease, something that study participants feel they are achieving.
"Participating in the study and doing the dance program has helped me feel healthier and more independent. And that is really exciting," says Tracy Blackwell, a study participant.
The trial is still enrolling patients.
Source: The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center