Jean Krampe, a Healthy-Steps instructor, knew that mobility and balance are two of the main reasons seniors fall, and she wanted to find a way to change these factors. Through her doctoral studies at MU's Sinclair School of Nursing, she found that dancing was becoming a popular therapy method.
She landed on Healthy-Steps, a dance-based therapy and movement program.
Although the program had been used to treat people with chronic illnesses, Krampe was the first to apply Healthy-Steps to people 65 and older and conduct studies on its effects. Her studies had positive results, showing that seniors would come to the activity and move during the sessions. Results also showed trends toward improving gait and balance.
Seniors reported they tremendously enjoyed the program, Krampe said. The results were so positive that the sessions are going to become a regular part of the activities at an Assisted Living center. Jean Krampe wanted to help stop older people from falling, so she taught them a new way to dance.
Krampe knew that mobility and balance are two of the main reasons seniors fall, and she wanted to find a way to change these factors. Through her doctoral studies at MU's Sinclair School of Nursing, she found that dancing was becoming a popular therapy method. She landed on Healthy-Steps, a dance-based therapy and movement program.
Although the program had been used to treat people with chronic illnesses, Krampe was the first to apply Healthy-Steps to people 65 and older and conduct studies on its effects. Her studies had positive results, showing that seniors would come to the activity and move during the sessions. Results also showed trends toward improving gait and balance.
Krampe, now an assistant professor at St. Louis University School of Nursing, introduced Healthy-Steps to the residents of an independent living facility in Columbia, as part of her dissertation project.
“It’s going to take a multitude of interventions to help reduce falls,” Krampe said, “and this is one that may have some evidence going forward.”
Krampe participated in a gerontology nursing conference this month in Columbia. This included a Healthy-Steps exhibit and a demonstration of the dance therapy.
“Regardless of what your physical state is, you can participate in this,” she said. “This is exactly what our nursing home residents need. If you can move your head side to side, you can participate.”
Socialization is an important for residents of nursing homes. They can get bored and lonely, and anything people can do to spice up their lives helps.
Before introducing the program to Columbia, Krampe did a pilot study in 2008 with the Alexian Brothers Program of All-inclusive Care for the Elderly, or PACE, in St. Louis. The study was small, with 11 people, but went well. She received an Alexian Brothers Ministry Grant to fund her training so she could lead future programs.
“I wanted to learn the theory behind it so I could know a lot more than just what I was told about it,” Krampe said.
Each class began with the song "Tiny Bubbles." During the song, the group blew bubbles so they could start breathing deeply before starting the movement part of the class.
After the warm up, the class did dances that were specially choreographed to be done sitting or standing. Participants cooled down with sharing time and a sing-a-long to “I Hope You Dance.”
“I landed on this particular type of dance because it works so well with older people,” Krampe said. “I knew I’d use a method that would be safe and not harmful to them.”
Building from the past
Sherry Lebed Davis, president of Healthy-Steps, who is based in Lynnwood, Wash., said Krampe’s research is vital to the senior community.
“If you can take a program that will significantly change seniors’ quality of life and extend their time to live, why wouldn’t you?” she said.
Davis and her two brothers founded the program. In 1980, their mother was diagnosed with breast cancer, and after going through surgery, she had severe loss of range of motion and went into a depression.
Davis started as a professional dancer and became a dance movement therapist. Her two brothers were, and still are, OB-GYN physicians and surgeons. With these backgrounds, they developed the Lebed Method, now called Healthy-Steps.
“It was put together to help people get better emotionally and to relieve depression, stress and anxiety,” Davis said. “It was put together to help people improve their balance, range of motion, strength, flexibility and their transition of steps.”
The first program started at the Albert Einstein Medical Center in Philadelphia where Davis’ mother had surgery. The surgeon wanted every breast cancer patient in his hospital to go through the program, Davis said.
After People magazine published a story about the method in 2000, Healthy-Steps went international and was applied to other diagnoses. More than 900 hospitals in 14 countries use the program, along with other facilities around the world, like wellness centers, assisted living centers and cancer centers.
The method has been used to improve the well being of people with chronic illnesses and other conditions. For people with lymphedema, a swelling anywhere in the body, Healthy-Steps helps reduce fluid build-up through the movements.
For seniors, Healthy-Steps helps prevent falls by focusing on certain movements that increase gait and balance. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, one-third of adults age 65 and older will fall each year, and two million will be treated in emergency departments for fall injuries that can be detrimental to their health.
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