[Physiotherapy interventions through hippotherapy in the treatment of cerebral palsy. A literature review].

The research article discusses how physiotherapy, specifically through hippotherapy, can be beneficial in treating symptoms of cerebral palsy. It highlights an extensive review of numerous existing studies on the topic, consolidating and discussing relevant findings.

Introduction to Cerebral Palsy and Physiotherapy

• Cerebral palsy stems from a non-progressive injury to a developing brain, and results in life-long motor impairments, disturbances in perception, speech, cognition, and overall competence.
• Physiotherapy is identified as an essential aspect of managing these symptoms. One version of this is hippotherapy, where the movement of a horse is used therapeutically.

Methodology of the Literature Review

• The researchers performed an exhaustive literature search using various databases. They used keywords such as “hippotherapy”, “cerebral palsy”, “children”, “treatment”, and “physiotherapy”.
• To maintain relevance and quality, the team applied specific inclusion and exclusion criteria, removed duplicated studies, and critically appraised all retrieved texts.
• After this rigorous process, 22 articles were selected for review.

Hippotherapy as a Physiotherapy Technique

• The review asserts that hippotherapy is a valuable tool for physiotherapy when treating cerebral palsy.
• In this therapy, the movement of the horse is deliberately controlled in order to stimulate the patient’s sensorial, neuromotor, and cognitive systems thus fostering functional development.
• The therapeutic interventions suggest that postural alignment is the most recommended approach by authors.

Tailoring Therapy to Individual Needs

• While hippotherapy is effective, the researchers note that there is no single standard of care in its application.
• The treatment needs to be individually tailored to suit the unique needs of each patient with cerebral palsy.