Application of a tri-axial accelerometry-based portable motion recorder for the quantitative assessment of hippotherapy in children and adolescents with cerebral palsy.
Tomoko Mutoh, Tatsushi Mutoh, Makoto Takada and 5 others
PMID 27821971WHAT IT FOUND
Three children and adolescents with cerebral palsy showed improved walking speed, step length, and balance control after two years of weekly hippotherapy.
A portable motion recorder detected these gains immediately after sessions and over time. This small case series supports hippotherapy's potential benefits but cannot prove efficacy for the broader CP population.
Key findings
01All three participants improved their Gross Motor Function Classification System level after two years of hippotherapy.
02Step length increased significantly between before and after a single hippotherapy session.
03Over two years, step rate, gait speed, step length, and mean acceleration showed gradual but significant increases.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTsWhat it means for OTs
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What it does not show
The study included only three participants, which limits generalizability to the broader cerebral palsy population. There was no control group, so it is impossible to know if improvements were due to hippotherapy, natural development, or other factors. The participants had a wide age range (5 to 25 years), making it difficult to attribute changes specifically to the intervention versus developmental progression. The long-term maintenance of benefits after stopping hippotherapy is unknown. The device used cannot provide detailed muscle activation data, limiting the understanding of the underlying mechanisms.
Declared interests
The authors declared no conflicts of interest. The study was conducted at a specific riding center, and the device used was a commercial product (LSI Medience, Tokyo, Japan), though the paper does not state whether the company funded or supported the research.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that hippotherapy is a proven treatment for cerebral palsy based on this paper. This is a case series of only three individuals without a control group, meaning the observed improvements could be due to natural development, other therapies, or placebo effects. The results are preliminary and cannot be generalized to all patients with cerebral palsy.