Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation
Volume 88, Issue 10 , Pages 1241-1248 , October 2007

The Effect of Hippotherapy on Spasticity and on Mental Well-Being of Persons With Spinal Cord Injury

Presented in part to the 18th Jahrestagung der Deutschsprachigen Medizinischen Gesellschaft für Paraplegie, April 2005, Alpbach, Austria.

  • Helga E. Lechner, MSc, PT

      Affiliations

    • Swiss Paraplegic Centre, Nottwil, Switzerland
    • Corresponding Author InformationReprint requests to Helga E. Lechner, MSc, PT, Swiss Paraplegic Centre, Guido A. Zaech Str. 1, CH-6207 Nottwil, Switzerland
  • ,
  • Tanja H. Kakebeeke, PhD, PT

      Affiliations

    • Swiss Paraplegic Research, Nottwil, Switzerland.
  • ,
  • Dörte Hegemann, PT

      Affiliations

    • Swiss Paraplegic Centre, Nottwil, Switzerland
  • ,
  • Michael Baumberger, MD

      Affiliations

    • Swiss Paraplegic Centre, Nottwil, Switzerland

References 

  1. Pandyan AD, Gregoric M, Barnes MP, et al. Spasticity: clinical perceptions, neurological realities and meaningful measurement. Disabil Rehabil. 2005;27:2–6
  2. Decq P. [Pathophysiology of spasticity] [French]. Neurochirurgie. 2003;49(2-3 Pt 2):163–164
  3. Adams MM, Hicks AL. Spasticity after spinal cord injury. Spinal Cord. 2005;43:577–586
  4. Little JW, Micklesen P, Umlauf R, Britell C. Lower extremity manifestations of spasticity in chronic spinal cord injury. Am J Phys Med Rehabil. 1989;68:32–36
  5. Skold C, Levi R, Ake S. Spasticity after traumatic spinal cord injury: nature, severity and location. Arch Phys Med Rehabil. 1999;80:1548–1557
  6. Dietz V. Spastic movement disorder. Spinal Cord. 2000;38:389–393
  7. Kirshblum S. Treatment alternatives for spinal cord injury related spasticity. J Spinal Cord Med. 1999;22:199–217
  8. Odéen I. Reduction of muscular hypertonus by long-term muscle stretch. Scand J Rehabil Med. 1981;13:93–99
  9. Kakebeeke TH, Lechner HE, Knapp PA. The effect of passive cycling movements on spasticity after spinal cord injury: preliminary results. Spinal Cord. 2005;43:483–488
  10. Skold C. Spasticity in spinal cord injury: self- and clinically rated intrinsic fluctuations and intervention-induced changes. Arch Phys Med Rehabil. 2000;81:144–149
  11. Kesiktas N, Paker N, Erdogan N, Gulsen G, Bicki D, Yilmaz H. The use of hydrotherapy for the management of spasticity. Neurorehabil Neural Repair. 2004;18:268–273
  12. Debuse D, Chandler C, Gibb C. An exploration of German and British physiotherapists’ views on the effects of hippotherapy and their measurement. Physiother Theory Pract. 2005;21:219–242
  13. Hegemann D, Zäch G. Hippotherapie zur Behandlung der Spastizität bei Para- und Tetraplegikern. In:  Grueninger W editors. Spinale Spastik. Stuttgart: Ueberreuter Verlag; 1989;p. 147–149
  14. Exner G, Engelmann A, Lange K, Wenck B. [Basic principles and effects of hippotherapy within the comprehensive treatment of paraplegic patients] [German]. Rehabilitation (Stuttg). 1994;33:39–43
  15. Meregillano G. Hippotherapy. Phys Med Rehabil Clin N Am. 2004;15:843–854vii
  16. Haskin M, Bream JA, Erdman WJ. The Pennsylvania horseback riding program for cerebral palsy. Am J Phys Med. 1982;61:141–144
  17. Rothhaupt D, Laser T, Ziegler H, Liebig K. [Orthopedic hippotherapy in postoperative rehabilitation of lumbar intervertebral disk patients (A prospective, randomized therapy study] [German]). Sportverletz Sportschaden. 1997;11:63–69
  18. Benda W, McGibbon NH, Grant KL. Improvements in muscle symmetry in children with cerebral palsy after equine-assisted therapy (hippotherapy). J Altern Complement Med. 2003;9:817–825
  19. Bertoti DB. Effect of therapeutic horseback riding on posture in children with cerebral palsy. Phys Ther. 1988;68:1505–1512
  20. McGibbon NH, Andrade CK, Widener G, Cintas HL. Effect of an equine-movement therapy program on gait, energy expenditure, and motor function in children with spastic cerebral palsy: a pilot study. Dev Med Child Neurol. 1998;40:754–762
  21. Hammer A, Nilsagard Y, Forsberg A, Pepa H, Skargren E, Oberg B. Evaluation of therapeutic riding (Sweden)/hippotherapy (United States) (A single-subject experimental design study replicated in eleven patients with multiple sclerosis). Physiother Theory Pract. 2005;21:51–77
  22. Wuethrich R, Kuenzle U. [Hippotherapy in multiple sclerosis (author’s transl)] [French]. J Belge Med Phys Rehabil. 1978;1:265–268
  23. Lechner HE, Feldhaus S, Gudmundsen L, et al. The short-term effect of hippotherapy on spasticity in patients with spinal cord injury. Spinal Cord. 2003;41:502–505
  24. Kuenzle U. Hippotherapie auf den Grundlagen der Funktionellen Bewegungslehre Klein-Vogelbach. Hippotherapie-K: Theorie, praktische Anwendung, Wirksamkeitsnachweis. Berlin: Springer Verlag; 2000.
  25. Strauss I. Hippotherapy: neurophysiological therapy on the horse. Thornhill: Ontario Therapeutic Riding Association; 1995;
  26. Ashworth B. Preliminary trial of carisoprodol in multiple sclerosis. Practitioner. 1964;192:540–542
  27. Pandyan AD, Johnson GR, Price CI, Curless RH, Barnes MP, Rodgers H. A review of the properties and limitations of the Ashworth and modified Ashworth Scales as measures of spasticity. Clin Rehabil. 1999;13:373–383
  28. Stewart JE, Barbeau H, Gauthier S. Modulation of locomotor patterns and spasticity with clonidine in spinal cord injured patients. Can J Neurol Sci. 1991;18:321–332
  29. Lechner HE, Frotzler A, Eser P. Relationship between self- and clinically rated spasticity in spinal cord injury. Arch Phys Med Rehabil. 2006;87:15–19
  30. Lienert GA. Testaufbau und Testanalyse. 3rd ed.. Weinheim: Beltz; 1969;
  31. von Zerssen D, Koeller DM. Befindlichkeits-Skala. Weinheim: Beltz-Test GmbH; 1975;
  32. Heimann H, Bobon-Schrod H, Schmocker AM, Bobon DP. [Self-rating of mood using a list of adjectives, Zerssen’s Befindlichkeits-Skala (BS)] [French]. Encephale. 1975;1:165–183
  33. Horn M, Scharer L, Walser S, Scherer-Klabunde D, Biedermann C, Walden J. Comparison of long-term monitoring methods for bipolar affective disorder. Neuropsychobiology. 2002;45(Suppl 1):27–32
  34. Moller HJ, Muller H, Volz HP. How to assess the onset of antidepressant effect: comparison of global ratings and findings based on depression scales. Pharmacopsychiatry. 1996;29:57–62
  35. Kuhs H, Farber D, Borgstadt S, Mrosek S, Tolle R. Amitriptyline in combination with repeated late sleep deprivation versus amitriptyline alone in major depression (A randomised study). J Affect Disord. 1996;37:31–41
  36. Saletu A, Pirker-Fruhauf H, Saletu F, Linzmayer L, Anderer P, Matejka M. Controlled clinical and psychometric studies on the relation between periodontitis and depressive mood. J Clin Periodontol. 2005;32:1219–1225
  37. Crozier TA, Kietzmann D, Dobereiner B. Mood change after anaesthesia with remifentanil or alfentanil. Eur J Anaesthesiol. 2004;21:20–24
  38. Haus U, Varga B, Stratz T, Spath M, Muller W. Oral treatment of fibromyalgia with tropisetron given over 28 days: influence on functional and vegetative symptoms, psychometric parameters and pain. Scand J Rheumatol Suppl. 2000;113:55–58
  39. Sauter C, Asenbaum S, Popovic R, et al. Excessive daytime sleepiness in patients suffering from different levels of obstructive sleep apnoea syndrome. J Sleep Res. 2000;9:293–301
  40. Kennedy P, Rogers BA. Anxiety and depression after spinal cord injury: a longitudinal analysis. Arch Phys Med Rehabil. 2000;81:932–937
  41. Kennedy P, Lude P, Taylor N. Quality of life, social participation, appraisals and coping post spinal cord injury: a review of four community samples. Spinal Cord. 2006;44:95–105
  42. Kuenzle U, Wuethrich R. Schweizerische Studie über die Wirksamkeit der Hippotherapie K bei Multiple-Sklerose-Patienten. In: Hippotherapie auf den Grundlagen der Funktionellen Bewegungslehre Klein-Vogelbach. Berlin: Springer Verlag; 2000. p 359-81.
  43. Sheldon MR, Fillyaw MJ, Thompson WD. The use and interpretation of the Friedman test in the analysis of ordinal-scale data in repeated measures designs. Physiother Res Int. 1996;1:221–228
  44. Brunner E, Langer F. Nichtparametrische Analyse longitudinaler Daten. München: Oldenbourg Verlag; 1999;
  45. Bobath B. Adult hemiplegia. 3rd ed.. Oxford: Butterworth-Heinemann; 1990;
  46. Pierrot-Deseilligny E, Mazieres L. Spinal mechanisms underlying spasticity. In:  Delwaide PJ,  Young RR editor. Clinical neurophysiology in spasticity. Amsterdam: Elsevier; 1985;p. 63–75
  47. Westgren N, Levi R. Quality of life and traumatic spinal cord injury. Arch Phys Med Rehabil. 1998;79:1433–1439

 Supported by the Swiss Paraplegic Foundation.

 No commercial party having a direct financial interest in the results of the research supporting this article has or will confer a benefit upon the author(s) or upon any organization with which the author(s) is/are associated.

PII: S0003-9993(07)01284-1

doi: 10.1016/j.apmr.2007.07.015

Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation
Volume 88, Issue 10 , Pages 1241-1248 , October 2007