Improving gross motor function and postural control with hippotherapy in children with Down syndrome: Case reports

Abstract

The purpose of this case report is to describe the impact of an 11-week hippotherapy program on the gross motor functions of two children (respectively 28 and 37 months old) diagnosed with Down syndrome. Hippotherapy is a strategy that uses the horse's motion to stimulate and enhance muscle contraction and postural control. The children were assessed by the Gross Motor Function Measure (GMFM) and accelerometry. The results indicate that both children improved on many dimensions of the GMFM. Power spectral analysis of the acceleration signals showed improvement in postural control of either the head or trunk, because the children adopted two different adaptative strategies to perturbation induced by the moving horse.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

We thank the American Hippotherapy Association for their financial support and Éliane Trempe for all aspects related to horses, volunteers, and staff.

Declaration of Interest: The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of the paper.