title: Hippotherapy acute impact on heart rate variability non-linear dynamics in neurological disorders.
abstract: Neurological disorders are associated with autonomic dysfunction. Hippotherapy (HT) is a therapy treatment strategy that utilizes a horse in an interdisciplinary approach for the physical and mental rehabilitation of people with physical, mental and/or psychological disabilities. However, no studies have been carried out which evaluated the effects of HT on the autonomic control in these patients. Therefore, the objective of the present study was to investigate the effects of a single HT session on cardiovascular autonomic control by time domain and non-linear analysis of heart rate variability (HRV). The HRV signal was recorded continuously in twelve children affected by neurological disorders during a HT session, consisting in a 10-minute sitting position rest (P1), a 15-minute preparatory phase sitting on the horse (P2), a 15-minute HT session (P3) and a final 10-minute sitting position recovery (P4). Time domain and non-linear HRV indices, including Sample Entropy (SampEn), Lempel-Ziv Complexity (LZC) and Detrended Fluctuation Analysis (DFA), were calculated for each treatment phase. We observed that SampEn increased during P3 (SampEn=0.56±0.10) with respect to P1 (SampEn=0.40±0.14, p<0.05), while DFA decreased during P3 (DFA=1.10±0.10) with respect to P1 (DFA=1.26±0.14, p<0.05). A significant SDRR increase (p<0.05) was observed during the recovery period P4 (SDRR=50±30ms) with respect to the HT session period P3 (SDRR=30±10ms). Our results suggest that HT might benefit children with disabilities attributable to neurological disorders by eliciting an acute autonomic response during the therapy and during the recovery period.
authors.affiliation: Cardiopulmonary Physiotherapy Laboratory, Federal University of São Carlos, Rodovia Washington Luís, Km 235, Jardim Guanabara, 13565-905 São Carlos, São Paulo, Brazil. Electronic address: ramona.cabiddu@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Ramona
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Cabiddu
authors.affiliation: Cardiopulmonary Physiotherapy Laboratory, Federal University of São Carlos, Rodovia Washington Luís, Km 235, Jardim Guanabara, 13565-905 São Carlos, São Paulo, Brazil.
authors.forename: Audrey
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Borghi-Silva
authors.affiliation: Cardiopulmonary Physiotherapy Laboratory, Federal University of São Carlos, Rodovia Washington Luís, Km 235, Jardim Guanabara, 13565-905 São Carlos, São Paulo, Brazil.
authors.forename: Renata
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Trimer
authors.affiliation: Cardiopulmonary Physiotherapy Laboratory, Federal University of São Carlos, Rodovia Washington Luís, Km 235, Jardim Guanabara, 13565-905 São Carlos, São Paulo, Brazil.
authors.forename: Vitor
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Trimer
authors.affiliation: Cardiopulmonary Physiotherapy Laboratory, Federal University of São Carlos, Rodovia Washington Luís, Km 235, Jardim Guanabara, 13565-905 São Carlos, São Paulo, Brazil.
authors.forename: Paula Angélica
authors.initials: PA
authors.lastname: Ricci
authors.affiliation: Cardiopulmonary Physiotherapy Laboratory, Federal University of São Carlos, Rodovia Washington Luís, Km 235, Jardim Guanabara, 13565-905 São Carlos, São Paulo, Brazil.
authors.forename: Clara
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Italiano Monteiro
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Physical Education, Federal University of Uberlândia, Rua João Naves de Ávila, 2121, Santa Mônica, 38408-100 Uberlândia, Minas Gerais, Brazil.
authors.forename: Marcela
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Camargo Magalhães Maniglia
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Physical Education, Federal University of Uberlândia, Rua João Naves de Ávila, 2121, Santa Mônica, 38408-100 Uberlândia, Minas Gerais, Brazil.
authors.forename: Ana Maria
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Silva Pereira
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Physical Education, Federal University of Uberlândia, Rua João Naves de Ávila, 2121, Santa Mônica, 38408-100 Uberlândia, Minas Gerais, Brazil.
authors.forename: Gustavo
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Rodrigues das Chagas
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Physical Education, Federal University of Uberlândia, Rua João Naves de Ávila, 2121, Santa Mônica, 38408-100 Uberlândia, Minas Gerais, Brazil.
authors.forename: Eliane Maria
authors.initials: EM
authors.lastname: Carvalho
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001794:Blood Pressure; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D019988:Children with Disabilities / Q000523:psychology; D056147:Equine-Assisted Therapy; D005260:Female; D006339:Heart Rate / Q000502:physiology; D006736:Horses; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009422:Nervous System Diseases / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000628:therapy*
keywords: Autonomic nervous control; Disability; Heart rate variability; Motor disorders; Physical therapy