Benda William, McGibbon Nancy H, Grant Kathryn L
Institute for Children, Youth, and Families, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA.
J Altern Complement Med. 2003 Dec;9(6):817-25. doi: 10.1089/107555303771952163.
To evaluate the effect of hippotherapy (physical therapy utilizing the movement of a horse) on muscle activity in children with spastic cerebral palsy.
Pretest/post-test control group.
SETTING/LOCATION: Therapeutic Riding of Tucson (TROT), Tucson, AZ.
Fifteen (15) children ranging from 4 to 12 years of age diagnosed with spastic cerebral palsy.
Children meeting inclusion criteria were randomized to either 8 minutes of hippotherapy or 8 minutes astride a stationary barrel.
Remote surface electromyography (EMG) was used to measure muscle activity of the trunk and upper legs during sitting, standing, and walking tasks before and after each intervention.
After hippotherapy, significant improvement in symmetry of muscle activity was noted in those muscle groups displaying the highest asymmetry prior to hippotherapy. No significant change was noted after sitting astride a barrel.
Eight minutes of hippotherapy, but not stationary sitting astride a barrel, resulted in improved symmetry in muscle activity in children with spastic cerebral palsy. These results suggest that the movement of the horse rather than passive stretching accounts for the measured improvements.
评估马术疗法（利用马匹运动的物理疗法）对痉挛型脑瘫患儿肌肉活动的影响。
前测/后测对照组。
亚利桑那州图森市的图森治疗性骑马中心（TROT）。
15名年龄在4至12岁之间、被诊断为痉挛型脑瘫的儿童。
符合纳入标准的儿童被随机分为两组，一组接受8分钟的马术疗法，另一组骑在固定的桶上8分钟。
在每次干预前后，使用遥测表面肌电图（EMG）测量患儿在坐、站和行走任务期间躯干和大腿上部的肌肉活动。
接受马术疗法后，在马术疗法前表现出最高不对称性的肌肉群中，肌肉活动的对称性有显著改善。骑在桶上后未观察到显著变化。
8分钟的马术疗法，而非骑在固定桶上，可改善痉挛型脑瘫患儿肌肉活动的对称性。这些结果表明，马匹的运动而非被动拉伸是所测改善效果的原因。
