The effect of a hippotherapy session on spatiotemporal parameters of gait in children with cerebral palsy – pilot study.

The research investigates the impacts of hippotherapy (therapeutic horseback riding) on the gait of children with cerebral palsy. The study found a significant improvement in walking speed post-session, but changes in other aspects of gait, while present, were not statistically significant.

Study Aim and Methodology

• The study’s main objective was to analyze the effect of hippotherapy on the gait of children with cerebral palsy, particularly regarding spatiotemporal parameters such as walking speed, cadence, step length, stride length, and left-right symmetry.
• In total, 16 children with cerebral palsy (10 females and 6 males between 5.7 and 17.5 years old) who qualified for hippotherapy were included in the study.
• The researchers used a three-dimensional accelerometer device (DynaPort MiniMod) to measure the spatiotemporal parameters of the participants’ gait both before and immediately after a hippotherapy session.
• A statistical test called the Wilcoxon test was utilized to verify the differences in the pre- and post-session results.

Study Results

• The results showed statistically significant changes in walking speed following a session of hippotherapy.
• Excluding step length, all other spatiotemporal parameters improved post-session, indicating they were closer to their respective reference ranges after the hippotherapy session. However, these changes were not statistically significant despite the improvements noted.

Study Conclusions

• The researchers concluded that a single session of hippotherapy may lead to a significant effect on the spatiotemporal parameters of gait in children with cerebral palsy, particularly concerning walking speed.
• While improvements were observed in other parameters, these changes didn’t achieve statistical significance, indicating that further studies might be needed to assess the long-term impacts of hippotherapy on these parameters.