Effects of Hippotherapy in Children with Cerebral Palsy

• Main Authors: Shu-ya Chan, 詹淑雅
• Other Authors: Yueh-Ling Hsieh
• Format: Others
• Language: zh-TW
• Published: 2014
• Online Access: http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/5x2h8n

碩士 === 中國醫藥大學 === 物理治療學系復健科學碩士班 === 102 === Background and purpose: Hippotherapy is one kind of specialized pediatric rehabilitation that makes use of the horse’s unique three-dimensional movement impulses at a walk to facilitate movement and functional activities in children positioned on the horse. It also has been suggested as interventions for correcting the motor and balance problems of children with cerebral palsy (CP). Hippotherapy is growing in popularity in Taiwan, but few objective studies have been undertaken to document its proposed effects. The objective of this study was to assess the effects of hippotherapy on the gross motor function, static and dynamic sitting balance, body function, activity and participation, and parenting stress for children with CP. Subjects and methods: A total of 14 children with CP participated in this 36-week hippotherapy research program. Hippotherapy was intervened for 30 minutes per week for 12 weeks at Weeks 12-24. The outcome measures which include Gross Motor Function Measure-88 (GMFM-88), displacement of center of pressure (COP),distances of functional reach, International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health for Children and Youth questionnaire (ICF-CY) and Parent Stress Index-Short form (PSI-SF) were performed at Weeks 0 (baseline), 12 (pre-treatment),24 (post-treatment) and 36 (follow-up). Results: Intervention of hippotherapy showed significantly improved GMFM-88 score (Dimension C), displacement of COP,distance of functional reach, ICF-CY in body function, activity and participation, as well as parent’s PSI-SF score (p < 0.05), especially for children with mild and moderate CP. Conclusion: Our results indicate that hippotherapy has beneficial effects as an intervention for children with CP on gross motor function, postural control, activity participation and parental stress.