Why using dance to help with MS is an inspiration for us all - Scotsman comment

The arts have rightly been hailed for their ability to inspire and transform lives – and it appears the medium of dance may even help with tackling the most debilitating of diseases.

Emily Davis, who has worked with the world-renowned Philadelphia Ballet company, is on a mission to help patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) through dance.

Already her PhD research, run out of Glasgow, has shown results in improving psychological well-being, the sense of belonging and in enriching social relationships amongst MS sufferers.

The research, which has involved working with patients in Perth and Orkney, has been hailed for producing the “potential benefits of ballet for people with MS for the first time”.

Scottish Ballet dancers on the banks of Loch Lomond. Picture: Jane Barlow/PA Wire

The work has won the backing of Scottish Ballet, as well as the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland.

And the mission to find new ways of defying MS – a neurological illness that affects more than 15,000 people in Scotland – is one The Scotsman is firmly behind.