Look Who it Was Random video

Ballroom Provides Couples Therapy

142 views · Published 6 June 2015 · 1:54 · Indexed 27 October 2026

Channel: Lee Health · 2015 · Science & Technology

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When Harriet Smith suffered a brain hemorrhage in 2009, she wondered if she would ever get back on her feet. Her vision was permanently impacted.

“I cannot see my hand. I have no vision to the left. And there were so many things I had to give up, one of them of course being driving,” says Harriet. 

With the world closing in around her, Harriet’s husband Chuck wasn’t about to let her give up.  They always enjoyed dancing, so they decided to take it to the next step.

“We were concerned about her recovery and quite honestly, without the ballroom dancing I don’t think she would have done nearly as well as she did, because it actually forced her to regain balance and confidence,” says Chuck. 

Ballroom dancing is enjoying a surge in popularity for fun and exercise. A way for people to mix and mingle and for established partners to regain intimacy. But now a new twist- couples therapy. Quite literally, using dance to rebuild strength, stamina and coordination.

“I happened to be a balance and vestibular specialist so balance is key and in order to get good balance, it starts with posture. And the one thing they teach in dancing and you have to have is good posture,” says Nathalie Grondin, who is a physical therapist with Lee Memorial Health System. 

So Harriet and Chuck made all the right moves. With steps forward and back, dipping and twirling. 

“The movements that we do in dancing are very particular to the dancing. It’s not like normal walking. It involves moving in different directions. Forward of course, but backward which is often a component which people often don’t know is so important,” says Grondin. 

It helped Harriet regain her footing, and Chuck with his knee problems.

“As it turned out, the dancing isn’t really a high-impact thing, it’s very good for movement,” says Chuck. 

“And we just kept it up and we’ve continued to go,” says Harriet. 

Side-by-side, they’ve come along way in their recovery. 

View More Health Matters video segments at leememorial.org/healthmatters/

Lee Memorial Health System in Fort Myers, FL is the largest network of medical care facilities in Southwest Florida and is highly respected for its expertise, innovation and quality of care. For nearly a century, we’ve been providing our community with everything from primary care treatment to highly specialized care services and robotic assisted surgeries.

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