Park Eun Sook, Rha Dong Wook, Shin Jung Soon, Kim Soohyeon, Jung Soojin
Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Severance Hospital, Research Institute of Rehabilitation Medicine, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
Horse Riding Academy of Korea Racing Authority, Gwacheon, Korea.
Yonsei Med J. 2014 Nov;55(6):1736-42. doi: 10.3349/ymj.2014.55.6.1736.
The purpose of our study was to investigate the effects of hippotherapy on gross motor function and functional performance in children with spastic cerebral palsy (CP).
We recruited 34 children (M:F=15:19, age: 3-12 years) with spastic CP who underwent hippotherapy for 45 minutes twice a week for 8 weeks. Twenty-one children with spastic CP were recruited for control group. The distribution of gross motor function classification system level and mean age were not significantly different between the two groups. Outcome measures, including the Gross Motor Function Measure (GMFM)-66, GMFM-88 and the Pediatric Evaluation of Disability Inventory: Functional Skills Scale (PEDI-FSS), were assessed before therapy and after the 8-weeks intervention as outcome measures.
There were no significant differences between intervention and control groups in mean baseline total scores of GMFM-66, GMFM-88 or PEDI-FSS. After the 8-weeks intervention, mean GMFM-66 and GMFM-88 scores were significantly improved in both groups. However, the hippotherapy group had significantly greater improvement in dimension E and GMFM-66 total score than the control group. The total PEDI-FSS score and the sub-scores of its 3 domains were significantly improved in the hippotherapy group, but not in the control group.
The results of our study demonstrate the beneficial effects of hippotherapy on gross motor function and functional performance in children with CP compared to control group. The significant improvement in PEDI-FSS scores suggests that hippotherapy may be useful to maximize the functional performance of children with CP.
本研究旨在探讨马术疗法对痉挛型脑瘫（CP）患儿粗大运动功能和功能表现的影响。
我们招募了34名痉挛型CP患儿（男∶女 = 15∶19，年龄3 - 12岁），他们接受了每周两次、每次45分钟、为期8周的马术疗法。招募了21名痉挛型CP患儿作为对照组。两组之间粗大运动功能分类系统水平分布和平均年龄无显著差异。在治疗前和8周干预后评估包括粗大运动功能测量量表（GMFM）- 66、GMFM - 88和儿童残疾评估量表：功能技能量表（PEDI - FSS）在内的结果指标。
干预组和对照组在GMFM - 66、GMFM - 88或PEDI - FSS的平均基线总分上无显著差异。8周干预后，两组的GMFM - 66和GMFM - 88平均得分均显著提高。然而，马术疗法组在E维度和GMFM - 66总分上的改善明显大于对照组。马术疗法组的PEDI - FSS总分及其3个领域的子分数均显著提高，而对照组则没有。
我们的研究结果表明，与对照组相比，马术疗法对CP患儿的粗大运动功能和功能表现有有益影响。PEDI - FSS评分的显著提高表明马术疗法可能有助于最大化CP患儿的功能表现。
