Human pelvis motions when walking and when riding a therapeutic horse.
Abstract: A prevailing rationale for equine assisted therapies is that the motion of a horse can provide sensory stimulus and movement patterns that mimic those of natural human activities such as walking. The purpose of this study was to quantitatively measure and compare human pelvis motions when walking to those when riding a horse. Six able-bodied children (inexperienced riders, 8-12years old) participated in over-ground trials of self-paced walking and leader-paced riding on four different horses. Five kinematic measures were extracted from three-dimensional pelvis motion data: anteroposterior, superoinferior, and mediolateral translations, list angle about the anteroposterior axis, and twist angle about the superoinferior axis. There was generally as much or more variability in motion range observed between riding on the different horses as between riding and walking. Pelvis trajectories exhibited many similar features between walking and riding, including distorted lemniscate patterns in the transverse and frontal planes. In the sagittal plane the pelvis trajectory during walking exhibited a somewhat circular pattern whereas during riding it exhibited a more diagonal pattern. This study shows that riding on a horse can generate movement patterns in the human pelvis that emulate many, but not all, characteristics of those during natural walking.
Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Publication Date: 2014-11-28 PubMed ID: 25436916DOI: 10.1016/j.humov.2014.06.011Google Scholar: Lookup
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- Journal Article
- Research Support
- Non-U.S. Gov't
Summary
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This research aimed to compare the movements of the human pelvis while walking and while riding a horse. It found that horse riding can generate similar but not identical pelvic movements to natural walking.
Participants
- Six able-bodied children aged between 8 to 12 years old participated in the study. The participants had little to no experience in horse riding, ensuring that the findings were not biased by any pre-existing riding skills.
Methodology
- The children participated in trials of self-paced walking and leader-paced riding on four different horses. This step allowed the researchers to compare the pelvic motions of the participants under two different conditions – walking and riding.
- Three-dimensional pelvic motion data was collected and analyzed. Five specific kinematic measures were extracted from this data. These include anteroposterior, superoinferior, and mediolateral translations. These measurements refer to the movements in front-to-back, top-to-bottom and side-to-side directions respectively. Additionally, the list angle (tilt) about the anteroposterior axis (front-to-back line) and the twist angle about the superoinferior axis (top-to-bottom line) were also measured.
Findings
- There was a significant degree of variability in the range of motion observed between riding different horses, and between riding and walking. This suggests that horse characteristics can influence pelvic motion during riding as much as the activity type does.
- While the pelvic trajectories during walking and riding exhibited many similar features, including distorted figure-eight patterns in the transverse and frontal (side-to-side and front-to-back) planes, discrepancies were noticed in the sagittal (top-to-bottom) plane. During walking, the pelvis trajectory exhibited a somewhat circular pattern whereas during riding, it exhibited a more diagonal pattern.
Conclusion
- The study concluded that riding a horse can generate movement patterns in the human pelvis that are similar to many, but not all, characteristics of natural walking. This finding can be beneficial for equine-assisted therapies, as it implies that horse riding can serve as a functional substitute for walking, at least in terms of pelvic motion.
Cite This Article
APA
Garner BA, Rigby BR.
(2014).
Human pelvis motions when walking and when riding a therapeutic horse.
Hum Mov Sci, 39, 121-137.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.humov.2014.06.011 Publication
Researcher Affiliations
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, Baylor University, Waco, TX, USA. Electronic address: Brian_Garner@baylor.edu.
- Department of Health, Human Performance, and Recreation, Baylor University, Waco, TX, USA. Electronic address: Rhett_Rigby@baylor.edu.
MeSH Terms
- Animals
- Child
- Computer Simulation
- Equine-Assisted Therapy / methods
- Female
- Gait / physiology
- Horses
- Humans
- Male
- Models, Anatomic
- Motion
- Pelvis / physiology
- Reproducibility of Results
- Video Recording
- Walking / physiology
Citations
This article has been cited 9 times.- Lavín-Pérez AM, Collado-Mateo D, Caña-Pino A, Villafaina S, Parraca JA, Apolo-Arenas MD. Benefits of Equine-Assisted Therapies in People with Multiple Sclerosis: A Systematic Review.. Evid Based Complement Alternat Med 2022;2022:9656503.
- Abdel-Aziem AA, Abdelraouf OR, Ghally SA, Dahlawi HA, Radwan RE. A 10-Week Program of Combined Hippotherapy and Scroth's Exercises Improves Balance and Postural Asymmetries in Adolescence Idiopathic Scoliosis: A Randomized Controlled Study.. Children (Basel) 2021 Dec 30;9(1).
- Lightsey P, Lee Y, Krenek N, Hur P. Physical therapy treatments incorporating equine movement: a pilot study exploring interactions between children with cerebral palsy and the horse.. J Neuroeng Rehabil 2021 Sep 6;18(1):132.
- Simonato SP, Bernardina GRD, Ferreira LCR, Silvatti AP, Barcelos KMC, da Fonseca BPA. 3D kinematic of the thoracolumbar spine in Mangalarga Marchador horses performing the marcha batida gait and being led by hand-A preliminary report.. PLoS One 2021;16(7):e0253697.
- Collado-Mateo D, Lavín-Pérez AM, Fuentes García JP, García-Gordillo MÁ, Villafaina S. Effects of Equine-Assisted Therapies or Horse-Riding Simulators on Chronic Pain: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.. Medicina (Kaunas) 2020 Aug 31;56(9).
- Rigby BR, Davis RW, Bittner MD, Harwell RW, Leek EJ, Johnson GA, Nichols DL. Changes in Motor Skill Proficiency After Equine-Assisted Activities and Brain-Building Tasks in Youth With Neurodevelopmental Disorders.. Front Vet Sci 2020;7:22.
- Bunketorp-Käll L, Pekna M, Pekny M, Blomstrand C, Nilsson M. Effects of horse-riding therapy and rhythm and music-based therapy on functional mobility in late phase after stroke.. NeuroRehabilitation 2019 Dec 18;45(4):483-492.
- Goodworth AD, Barrett C, Rylander J, Garner B. Specificity and variability of trunk kinematics on a mechanical horse.. Hum Mov Sci 2019 Feb;63:82-95.
- Funakoshi R, Masuda K, Uchiyama H, Ohta M. A possible mechanism of horseback riding on dynamic trunk alignment.. Heliyon 2018 Sep;4(9):e00777.
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