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

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.