Temple Grandin Equine Center, Departments of Animal Sciences and Occupational Therapy, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, USA.
Department of Kinesiology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA.
Disabil Rehabil. 2021 May;43(10):1463-1487. doi: 10.1080/09638288.2019.1653997. Epub 2019 Sep 6.
Comprehensively and systematically map peer-reviewed studies of hippotherapy published over 30 years, from 1980 through 2018, from the perspective of a phased scientific approach to developing complex interventions as a guide to future research and practice.
A systematic mapping review of research of hippotherapy was conducted. Searches of nine databases produced 3,528 unique records; 78 full-text, English-written studies were reviewed, the earliest of which was published in 1998. Data relevant to study aims were extracted electronically from these studies and analyzed using queries and pivot tables.
Children with cerebral palsy and physical therapists were most prevalent as participants and providers. Equine movement was hippotherapy's core component and mechanism. Early-phase outcomes-oriented research predominated. "Hippotherapy" was ambiguously defined as treatment strategies and comprehensive professional services, even as interventions grew more distinctive and complex. A treatment theory and proof of concept related to motor outcomes were established, and efficacy research with comparison conditions emerged.
Continuing research of complex interventions that integrate hippotherapy, equine movement as a therapy tool, is warranted. Attention to gaps in foundational scientific work concurrent with continued piloting and efficacy work will help to identify the most promising interventions worthy of replication, evaluation and widespread adoption.IMPLICATIONS FOR REHABILITATIONTo advance the evidence base of complex interventions that incorporate hippotherapy:•Proponents of hippotherapy need to define and represent hippotherapy to the public and in practice and research contexts as a therapy tool involving the use of the movement of horses by qualified professionals, rather than simply as a generic therapy with the help of a horse or simulated horse;•Providers of hippotherapy need to identify their professional degrees and certifications, and explicate their disciplinary perspectives that influence their selected components of intervention, related methods, and outcomes; and•Providers and researchers need to partner to develop an enablement theory of hippotherapy that links improved body functions with improved participation in everyday life and quality of life.
从分阶段科学方法的角度出发，全面系统地绘制 1980 年至 2018 年 30 多年来发表的有关马术治疗的同行评议研究，为未来的研究和实践提供指导。
对马术治疗的研究进行了系统的制图回顾。对 9 个数据库进行了搜索，产生了 3528 条独特的记录；对 78 篇全文英文研究进行了审查，最早的研究发表于 1998 年。从这些研究中以电子方式提取与研究目标相关的数据，并使用查询和枢轴表进行分析。
脑瘫儿童和物理治疗师是最常见的参与者和提供者。马的运动是马术治疗的核心组成部分和机制。以结果为导向的早期研究占主导地位。“马术治疗”被模糊地定义为治疗策略和全面的专业服务，即使干预措施变得更加独特和复杂。建立了与运动结果相关的治疗理论和概念验证，并且出现了具有对照条件的疗效研究。
需要继续对马术治疗相关的复杂干预进行研究，将马术治疗、马的运动作为治疗工具进行整合。关注基础科学工作中的空白，同时继续进行试点和疗效工作，将有助于确定最有前途的干预措施，值得复制、评估和广泛采用。
·马术治疗的支持者需要在公众和实践及研究背景中，将马术治疗定义并呈现为一种治疗工具，涉及合格专业人员使用马的运动，而不仅仅是简单地作为一种通用疗法，借助马或模拟马；
·马术治疗的提供者需要确定他们的专业学位和认证，并阐明影响他们选择的干预措施、相关方法和结果的专业视角；
·提供者和研究人员需要合作，制定马术治疗的赋权理论，将改善的身体功能与日常生活和生活质量的改善联系起来。
