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KIMMSWICK:
Study on equine therapy proves results
Researcher presents findings to Ride-On board
By Trish Wallace
Sunday, March 23, 2008 7:02 AM CDT
Researcher Tim L. Schurtleff
measured the movements of children with cerebral palsy
by using reflective markers to prove the effectiveness
of hippotherapy.
Gathering evidence on the effectiveness
of hippotherapy, researcher Tim L. Shurtleff presented
his latest results to the Ride On St. Louis (ROSL) Board
of Directors last week.
The goal of Kimmswick-based
ROSL is to provide emotional, mental, physical and spiritual
benefits through the use of horses in equine-assisted
therapy for those who are developmentally and physically
disabled.
In his research, Shurtleff
wanted to measure the changes in the trunk and head
stability and the upper extremity function after 12
weeks of hippotherapy for children with spastic diplegic
cerebral palsy ."I never expected to do this for
four years," Shurtleff said.
Yet four years and two studies
after first diving into his research, Shurtleff is on
his way to proving the significant improvements of children
who have regular contact with the therapeutic rhythm
of a horse's movement. He was
quick to add that hippotherapy is indeed therapy and
not a riding lesson.
According to Shurtleff, the
definition of trunk stability is the ability to keep
the head and neck stable while the pelvis is in motion,
such as in a basketball player running down the court.
"This just provides confirmation
through the community that this is therapy," Rick
Wassman, ROSL executive director, said.
Shurtleff's pilot study involved
six children, two of whom were involved with ROSL throughout
the study.
"We wouldn't have been
able to do it without groups like you," Shurtleff
told the ROSL board.
Before beginning testing, Shurtleff
had the daunting task of finding children who had never
ridden a horse before, had not undergone Botox or surgery
within the six months prior to testing and had to be
able to sit upright unaided.
The children involved with
the study participated in 12 weeks of 45-minute hippotherapy
sessions. The therapy treatments were customized to
fit each child's individual needs. Shurtleff tested
the participants and a control group of children without
disabilities of equivalent ages before the therapy and
after the 12 weeks of interaction with the horses.
Shurtleff placed 24 reflective
markers on the participants and had each child sit in
two positions on a challenge barrel, which allowed them
to sit with the posture similar to riding a horse. Six
cameras measured the children's trunk and neck positions
60 times per second.
The study tested head angles
and anterior/posterior movement. After 12 weeks of therapy,
the participants cut unstable movement and wobbling
in half, improving their posture, stability, visual
focus and walking ability.
"They're moving into the
range of normal, which is really exciting," Shurtleff
said.
Shurtleff's pilot study earned
him enough grant money to continue his research with
a second study, for which he is finalizing results now.
In the current study, Shurtleff
tested 11 new children with cerebral palsy, three of
whom are involved with ROSL, and a control group of
eight children without disabilities. Again, Shurtleff
tested the participants before and after the 12 weeks
of therapy, but this time he also tested the children
12 weeks after the conclusion of the therapy.
"Personally, I don't care
if they learn to ride a horse," Shurtleff said.
"I want to know if the results stuck."
The results impressed and encouraged
Shurtleff. Not only did the children improve their trunk
stability and upper extremity function by the same ratio
as the children without disabilities improved, but 12
weeks after therapy ended, the children still showed
the same improved results.
"This adds a great deal
of credibility for us and for this industry," Wassman
said.
Now Shurtleff is hoping to
obtain a much larger grant to conduct a much larger
study. His ultimate goal is to provide enough evidence
of effectiveness for insurance companies to agree to
cover hippotherapy as a credible therapy.
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