Western Michigan University School of Medicine, Kalamazoo, MI 49008, USA.
J Altern Complement Med. 2013 Jul;19(7):622-6. doi: 10.1089/acm.2012.0642. Epub 2013 Jan 29.
Falls are an important cause of morbidity in older adults. Equine-assisted activities including therapeutic riding (TR) benefit balance and neuromuscular control in patients with neurological disabilities but have not been systematically studied in older adults at greater risk for falls due to balance deficits. The effect of an 8-week TR program on measures of balance and quality of life in community-dwelling older adults with established balance deficits was evaluated.
This was a pretest-post-test single-group trial of a TR program on measures of balance and quality of life.
The study was conducted at a Professional Association of Therapeutic Horsemanship (PATH) International Premier riding center.
The subjects comprised 9 adults (5 female, 4 males) with a mean age 76.4 years (range 71-83 years).
This included an 8-week observation period followed by an 8-week TR program consisting of 1 hour per week of supervised horseback riding and an 8-week follow-up period. SUBJECTS received balance testing at weeks 0, 8, 16, and 24 using the Fullerton Advanced Balance Scale (FABS), and quality of life was measured at weeks 8 and 16 using the Rand SF (short form) 36 quality-of-life measure.
OUTCOME MEASURES were change in the FABS and Rand SF 36.
There was no significant difference in balance scores between the start and end of the observation period. There was a significant improvement in the balance score and perception of general health from the start to the end of the intervention period, and no significant difference between the end of the intervention and the end of study, suggesting that improvements may have been sustained.
TR is a safe activity for older adults with mild to moderate balance deficits and leads to both improvements in balance and quality of life. Longer and larger studies to assess the benefit of equine-assisted activities on improvements in balance and reduction in fall risk are needed.
跌倒是老年人发病率的一个重要原因。包括治疗性骑马（TR）在内的马术辅助活动有益于神经残疾患者的平衡和神经肌肉控制，但尚未在因平衡缺陷而更易跌倒的老年人群中进行系统研究。评估了 8 周 TR 计划对有明确平衡缺陷的社区居住的老年患者平衡和生活质量的影响。
这是一个关于 TR 计划对平衡和生活质量的影响的预测试后单组试验。
该研究在一个专业马术治疗协会（PATH）国际骑术中心进行。
受试者包括 9 名成年人（5 名女性，4 名男性），平均年龄 76.4 岁（71-83 岁）。
包括 8 周的观察期，随后是 8 周的 TR 计划，包括每周 1 小时的监督骑马和 8 周的随访期。受试者在第 0、8、16 和 24 周使用 Fullerton 高级平衡量表（FABS）进行平衡测试，在第 8 和 16 周使用 Rand SF（简短形式）36 生活质量量表测量生活质量。
在观察期开始和结束时，平衡评分没有显著差异。在干预期间，平衡评分和一般健康感知有显著改善，而在干预结束和研究结束之间没有显著差异，这表明改善可能已经持续。
TR 是轻度至中度平衡缺陷的老年患者的安全活动，可改善平衡和生活质量。需要进行更长和更大的研究来评估马术辅助活动对平衡改善和跌倒风险降低的益处。
