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Postural Stability after Hippotherapy in an Adolescent with Cerebral Palsy

Monika Zadnikar and Darja Rugelj

Objectives:To investigate whether hippotherapy has short- and long-term effects on postural control in an adolescent with cerebral palsy (CP).

Design: Pre-and post-treatment follow-up with 5-week intervention. Quantitative stabilometry and a modified sensory organization test were performed to determine the subject’s response after hippotherapy (HT). The total path length and the lengths of the mediolateral and anteroposterior centre of pressure (COP) movements were calculated.

Settings: Measurement system from the Health Faculty research laboratory in centre for HT.

Participant: Adolescent with CP.

Intervention: 5 weeks’ hippotherapy, 3 times per week for 30 minutes.

Measures: Modified sensory organization test, stabilometry and gross motor function measure.

Results: The results of measurement of the short-term effect of HT on the parameters of movement of the COP on a firm surface with eyes open show that the total path length decreased by 20.94%, the path length in the mediolateral direction decreased by 24.30%, and in the anteroposterior direction by 17.91%; the area of the stabilogram decreased by 55.54% and the individual variance index (IVI) decreased by 9.95%. After completion of HT, the total path length decreased by 33.70%, the path length in the mediolateral direction decreased by 30.48%, in the anteroposterial direction by 35.06%; the stabilogram area decreased by 59.82% and IVI decreased by 15.10%.

Conclusion: In our case study the modified sensory organization test on the force plate was sufficiently sensitive to detect fluctuation changes in the COP; therefore it is appropriate for continued use. Similarly, HT was found to have a positive effect on postural control.