Photo Courtesy of Horses and Humans Research Foundation
A recently published research project has confirmed the benefits of equine-assisted therapy for children with spastic diplegia cerebral palsy.
Doctors Tim L. Shurtleff, John W. Standeven and Jack R. Engsberg of the Washington University Program in Occupational Therapy conducted the study, which was funded by the Ohio-based Horses and Humans Research Foundation. The breakthrough research findings, published in the Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation in July, illustrate the usefulness of the unique movement of horses for the fields of physical and occupational therapy.
A video motion capture technique (similar to ‘live action’ animated films) was used to collect data for the study by taking images of surface markers placed on children with and without cerebral palsy as they sat on a mechanical barrel which simulated a horse’s movement.
Data were gathered before and after a 12-week hippotherapy intervention at local equine-assisted activities programs. The final data reveal that hippotherapy improved trunk and head stability and upper extremity reaching/targeting in children with spastic diplegia cerebral palsy. Significantly, the improvements often continued, even months after the intervention ended.
“Beliefs about the positive effects of hippotherapy are strongly held, but not yet fully supported by objective evidence,” says Tim Shurtleff, occupational therapist and lead researcher. “We have shown that hippotherapy is a therapeutic tool that makes a measurable and visible difference in basic skills that form the foundation of most functional activities of everyday life.”
Horses and Humans Research Foundation was founded in 2004 to facilitate universal understanding and appreciation of the significant influence of horses on humans. The foundation promotes research that will directly benefit program participants and educate the public, including parents, donors, insurance companies and the medical community, regarding the benefits of equine-assisted activities and therapies.
The article is printed in the July issue, Volume 90, Issue 7 of the Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, an international journal that “brings readers authoritative information on the therapeutic utilization of physical and pharmaceutical agents in providing comprehensive care for persons with disabilities and chronically ill individuals.”
For more information about HHRF, visit www.horsesandhumans.org
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