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Improvements in muscle symmetry in children with cerebral palsy after equine-assisted therapy (hippotherapy).

Abstract: To evaluate the effect of hippotherapy (physical therapy utilizing the movement of a horse) on muscle activity in children with spastic cerebral palsy. Methods: Pretest/post-test control group. Methods: Therapeutic Riding of Tucson (TROT), Tucson, AZ. Methods: Fifteen (15) children ranging from 4 to 12 years of age diagnosed with spastic cerebral palsy. Methods: Children meeting inclusion criteria were randomized to either 8 minutes of hippotherapy or 8 minutes astride a stationary barrel. Methods: Remote surface electromyography (EMG) was used to measure muscle activity of the trunk and upper legs during sitting, standing, and walking tasks before and after each intervention. Results: After hippotherapy, significant improvement in symmetry of muscle activity was noted in those muscle groups displaying the highest asymmetry prior to hippotherapy. No significant change was noted after sitting astride a barrel. Conclusions: Eight minutes of hippotherapy, but not stationary sitting astride a barrel, resulted in improved symmetry in muscle activity in children with spastic cerebral palsy. These results suggest that the movement of the horse rather than passive stretching accounts for the measured improvements.
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Publication Date: PubMed ID: 14736353
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Summary

This research summary has been generated with artificial intelligence and may contain errors and omissions. Refer to the original study to confirm details provided. Submit correction.

This study aimed to find out if hippotherapy, or physical therapy that uses the movement of a horse, could help improve muscle activity symmetry in children with spastic cerebral palsy. The researchers found that short sessions of hippotherapy resulted in significant improvements in muscle activity symmetry, while sitting on a stationary object did not have the same effect.

Methods

  • The study was conducted as a pretest/post-test control group design with all experiments taking place at Therapeutic Riding of Tucson (TROT) in Tucson, AZ.
  • The subjects of the study were fifteen children aged between 4 and 12 years who had been diagnosed with spastic cerebral palsy.
  • Those who met the inclusion criteria for the study were randomly assigned to participate in either 8 minutes of hippotherapy or 8 minutes of sitting astride a stationary barrel. The purpose of this was to differentiate between the effects of the therapy involving movement of the horse with effects of stationary sitting.
  • Remote surface electromyography (EMG) was used to assess muscle activity in the children’s trunks and upper legs both before and after each bout of therapy for various tasks such as sitting, standing, and walking.

Results

  • Results revealed a significant improvement in the symmetry of the muscle activity amongst those muscle groups that had previously been found to have the highest levels of asymmetry, after the children had participated in hippotherapy.
  • However, no similar significant change was observed after the children had sat astride the stationary barrel.

Conclusions

  • The researchers concluded that an 8-minute session of hippotherapy had a positive impact by improving muscle activity symmetry in children with spastic cerebral palsy.
  • The results indicate that these improvements are likely attributed to the movement of the horse during the therapy, and not just passive stretching, which differentiates hippotherapy from other therapies for children with cerebral palsy.

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(). Improvements in muscle symmetry in children with cerebral palsy after equine-assisted therapy (hippotherapy). .

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Citations

This article has been cited 42 times.
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