Effects of assisted aquatic movement and horseback riding therapies on emotion and brain activation in patients with cerebral palsy.
Kwangmin Ryu, Asif Ali, Minji Kwon and 4 others
PMID 28174435WHAT IT FOUND
After one 50-minute session, patients with cerebral palsy assigned to assisted aquatic movement showed higher alpha-wave brain activity and more pleasant and more activated feelings than those assigned to horseback riding or movie watching.
Key findings
01The main expected brain measure, alpha power, was higher in the assisted aquatic movement group than in the horseback riding and control groups.
02After the session, felt arousal was higher in the assisted aquatic movement group than in the horseback riding and control groups.
03The assisted aquatic movement group reported more pleasant feelings after the session than before.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTs
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What it does not show
The three groups were not equivalent in age, so group differences may partly reflect age. Each therapy was given only once, so the study says nothing about repeated or long-term treatment. The sample was small, with 32 participants, so results may be unstable. The control group watched a movie, so the findings are relative to movie watching. Each session included warm-up, main activity, and cool-down, so the contribution of any single component cannot be separated.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that the aquatic movement portion alone improved emotional state. The 50-minute session also included warm-up and cool-down, and the study tested only one session.