title: The effect of a hippotherapy session on spatiotemporal parameters of gait in children with cerebral palsy - pilot study.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Hippotherapy has been shown to produce beneficial effects by improving the most difficult motor functions, such as sitting, running, jumping, coordination, as well as balance and muscle strength in children with motor developmental delays. The aim of this study was to analyze the effect of hippotherapy on spatiotemporal parameters of gait in cerebrally palsied children.
  
  
  METHODS
  16 ambulatory cerebrally palsied children (GMFCS Level I-III; Female: 10, Male: 6; Age: 5.7-17.5 years old) qualified for hippotherapy were investigated. Basic spatiotemporal parameters of gait, including walking speed, cadence, step length, stride length and the left-right symmetry, were collected using a three-dimensional accelerometer device (DynaPort MiniMod) before and immediately after a hippotherapy session. The Wilcoxon test was used to verify the differences between pre- and post-session results.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Changes of walking speed were statistically significant. With the exception of step length, all spatiotemporal parameters improved, i.e. were closer to the respective reference ranges after the session. However, these changes were not statistically significant.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  One session of hippotherapy may have a significant effect on the spatiotemporal parameters of gait in cerebrally palsied children.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatric Orthopedics and Traumatology, Poznań University of Medical Sciences, Poland. foka@interia.pl
authors.forename: Faustyna
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Manikowska
authors.forename: Marek
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Jóźwiak
authors.forename: Maciej
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Idzior
authors.forename: Po-Jung Brian
authors.initials: PJ
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Dariusz
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Tarnowski
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000818:Animals; D002547:Cerebral Palsy / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D056147:Equine-Assisted Therapy / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D005684:Gait / Q000502:physiology*; D006736:Horses; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D053580:Muscle Strength / Q000502:physiology; D010865:Pilot Projects; D004856:Postural Balance / Q000502:physiology*; D016059:Range of Motion, Articular / Q000502:physiology*; D016896:Treatment Outcome