The Effect of Hippotherapy on Balance in Individuals with Developmental Disabilities

Abstract

Hippotherapy is a rehabilitation treatment using the multidimensional movements of a horse as a therapeutic tool to facilitate active gross motor control. The purpose of this study was to examine the effectiveness of a hippotherapy therapeutic intervention on improving balance in individuals with developmental disabilities. This was investigated using performance production measures of the BTrackS portable force plate. Voluntary participants (n = 10) with developmental disabilities who ranged in age from seven to thirty-seven years old participated in the study. Measurements were taken before and after a twelve-week hippotherapy intervention program. Balance was quantified by having the individuals stand on the BTrackS force plate for four consecutive 20-second trials. The medial/lateral, anterior/posterior, and ellipse area measurements were analyzed. Following 12-weeks of training, there was a significant increase in balance stability for all participants. Medial-lateral (cm) sway decreased from 0.7 + 0.7 to 0.5 + 1.4 (p < 0.05, d = 0.34) and anterior-posterior (cm) sway decreased from 0.8 + 0.5 to 0.5 + 0.4 (p < 0.05, d = 0.62). The results from this study suggest that hippotherapy has a positive influence on balance in individuals with developmental disabilities and can be a useful treatment tool for this population.