Summary of the Systematic Review

ARTICLE CITATION

Hippotherapy—An Intervention to Habilitate Balance Deficits in Children With Movement Disorders: A Clinical Trial

Silkwood-Sherer, D., Killian, C., Long, T., & Martin K. 

Physical Therapy (2012) 

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ARTICLE DETAILS

Description

The purposes of this study were to assess the effectiveness of hippotherapy for the management of postural instability in children with mild to moderate balance problems and to determine whether there is a correlation between balance and function.

Sixteen children (9 boys and 7 girls) who were 5 to 16 years of age and had documented balance problems participated in this study. Intervention consisted of 45-minute hippotherapy sessions twice per week for 6 weeks. Two baseline assessments and 1 postintervention assessment of balance, as measured with the Pediatric Balance Scale (PBS), and of function, as measured with the Activities Scale for Kids-Performance (ASKp), were performed.

Profession 

Physical Therapist 

Location 

USA

Intervention Terminology

HPOT

Study Design 

Cohort repeated-measures design

Sample

16 children 

Age/Population

5-16  years 

Assessment/ Outcome measure tools

Pediatric Balance Scale (PBS) and Activities Scale for Kids—Performance (ASKp)

Result Category 

Balance, postural stability, and function

Dosage/Description of Intervention

45-minute hippotherapy sessions twice per week for 6 weeks