ABSTRACT

Objective : In this study, the effects of hippotherapy sessions on spasticity and muscular activity in children with cerebral palsy were investigated. Methods : Nine children under 12 years old with spastic cerebral palsy participated in this study. The subjects met the following criteria: the ability to sit independently with their feet on the ground with no back support; the ability to stand and walk independently with or without an assistive device; and sufficient hip abduction for sitting astride a horse. The spasticity of each subject was obtained using a Modified Ashworth Scale, and the muscular activity was measured using a TelemyoTM 2400TG2, which is an EMG device from Noraxon, Inc. before and 2, 4, and 8 weeks after the hippotherapy sessions. Repeated ANOVA measurements using SPSS were conducted to analyze the influence of the hippotherapy sessions on the spasticity and muscular activity of the children. Statistical significance was defined as p<.05. Results : There was a decrease in the spasticity of the elbow and knee flexions after the hippotherapy sessions. There was an increase in the muscular activity in the brachii muscle of the biceps and in the quadriceps muscle after the hippotherapy sessions. Conclusion : After the application of hippotherapy for childeren with cerebral palsy, a meaningful decrease in the spasticity and an increase in muscular activity could be seen.