Hippotherapy in adult patients with chronic brain disorders: a pilot study.
OBJECTIVE
To investigate the effects of hippotherapy for adult patients with brain disorders.


METHODS
Eight chronic brain disorder patients (7 males, mean age 42.4±16.6 years) were recruited. The mean duration from injury was 7.9±7.7 years. The diagnoses were stroke (n=5), traumatic brain disorder (n=2), and cerebral palsy (n=1). Hippotherapy sessions were conducted twice a week for eight consecutive weeks in an indoor riding arena. Each hippotherapy session lasted 30 minutes. All participants were evaluated by the Berg balance scale, Tinetti Performance-Oriented Mobility Assessment, 10 Meter Walking Test, Functional Ambulatory Category, Korean Beck Depression Inventory, and Hamilton Depression Rating Scale. We performed baseline assessments twice just before starting hippotherapy. We also assessed the participants immediately after hippotherapy and at eight weeks after hippotherapy.


RESULTS
All participants showed no difference in balance, gait function, and emotion between the two baseline assessments before hippotherapy. During the eight-week hippotherapy program, all participants showed neither adverse effects nor any accidents; all had good compliance. After hippotherapy, there were significant improvements in balance and gait speed in comparison with the baseline assessment (p<0.05), and these effects were sustained for two months after hippotherapy. However, there was no significant difference in emotion after hippotherapy.


CONCLUSIONS
We could observe hippotherapy to be a safe and effective alternative therapy for adult patients with brain disorders in improving balance and gait function. Further future studies are warranted to delineate the benefits of hippotherapy on chronic stroke patients.
Department of Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine, Samsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Seoul 135-710, Korea.
Hyuk
H
Sunwoo
Won Hyuk
WH
Chang
Jeong-Yi
JY
Kwon
Tae-Won
TW
Kim
Ji-Young
JY
Lee
Yun-Hee
YH
Kim
Balance; Brain disorder; Gait; Hippotherapy