Can hippotherapy make a difference in the quality of life of children with cerebral palsy? A pragmatic study

ABSTRACT

Objective: To determine if the addition of 12 weekly therapy sessions, incorporating hippotherapy as the primary intervention to each child’s usual therapy program, will improve balance, participation, and quality of life.

Methods: Pragmatic, multi-center, randomized, controlled trial of 13 children with cerebral palsy (CP), ages 3 to 6 years. A treatment group received 12 weeks of weekly hippotherapy intervention in addition to their usual therapy. A control group continued with their usual therapy only. Assessments were completed for the treatment group pre-intervention (P0), post intervention (P1), and 12 weeks post no intervention (P2). Control group assessments occurred in the same timeframe: baseline, 12 weeks and 24 weeks.

Results: The only significant difference between the groups, post intervention, was on the Pediatric Balance Scale (PBS). Within group analysis showed no significant changes for the control group between any pretest/posttest measures. The treatment group demonstrated significant improvement on the PBS (P0-P1, p = .02; P0-P2, p = .02) and Activities Scale for Kids (P0-P1, p = .02; P0-P2, p = .02) with delayed improvement on the 1 Minute Walk Test (P1-P2, p = .02) and Pediatric Quality of Life – CP Module (P0-P2, p = .03).

Conclusions: Improvements in balance in children with CP may promote increased participation and quality of life when hippotherapy is added to their treatment plan.

KEYWORDS:

• Hippotherapy
• cerebral palsy
• balance
• participation
• quality of life

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank the following site coordinators for the study: Joann Benjamin PT, HPCS; Jane Burrows tDPT, HPCS; and Nancy O’Meara Krenek PT, HPCS. We would also like to thank those therapists who provided treatment and assessments for study participants as well as the staff, horses and participants from Ride On Therapeutic Horsemanship, Chatsworth CA; Equus for Humanity, Southwest Ranches, FL; ROCK, Georgetown, TX; and Therapeutic Riding of Tucson, Tucson, AZ. This work was supported by a grant from the Horses and Humans Research Foundation, Chagrin Falls, OH, USA.

Declaration of interest

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Horses and Humans Research Foundation.