Hippotherapy as a Rehabilitation Method for Regaining Ambulatory Function after Spinal Cord Injury (2013)

Undergraduate: Devin Fohn

Faculty Advisor: Beth Lamanna
Department: Nursing

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Spinal cord injury (SCI) is a sudden and devastating neurological injury that can result in immediate and significant motor and sensory deficits and thus requires long-term rehabilitation. There exists a need for improvement in SCI rehabilitation in terms of the proportion of SCI patients who regain ambulatory function as well as in the quality of ambulatory function that is recovered. Hippotherapy is a treatment strategy that utilizes the movement of the horse to produce positive neuromuscular effects in the rider. A literature review was conducted to investigate the use of hippotherapy as a potential rehabilitation method for SCI patients regaining ambulatory function. There is evidence to support that hippotherapy may help with central pattern generator training, supraspinal cortical reorganization, proprioceptive and vestibular input modulation, attentional capacity, muscle strength, balance, coordination, muscle spasticity, and psychological well-being in SCI patients. These physiological benefits of hippotherapy are consistent with the goals of SCI rehabilitation and the physiological mechanisms required for regaining ambulatory function. Hippotherapy is unique in that it is widely well-received by patients, it is a normalizing and therapeutic activity out of the clinical setting, and it has been shown to have positive psychological outcomes. This literature review supports the need for and importance of studies of hippotherapy efficacy for SCI patients.