Date of Award

1998

Document Type

Scholarly Project

Degree Name

Master of Physical Therapy (MPT)

Department

Physical Therapy

First Advisor

Peggy Mohr

Keywords

Cerebral Palsy -- therapy; Hippotherapy

Abstract

It has been postulated that hippotherapy will help increase range of motion (ROM), pulmonary function, balance, and muscle tone in children with cerebral palsy and, therefore, may be used as a physical therapy modality. The purpose of this independent study is to objectively measure lower extremity range of motion in children with cerebral palsy after an eight-week hippotherapy program.

Six children diagnosed with cerebral palsy initially participated in the experiment using a repeated measure design. Only two subjects completed the study. No control group was used for this study. A consent form was signed prior to measuring LE ROM.

It was concluded that children with cerebral palsy showed no significant improvement when hippotherapy was used as a physical therapy modality. It should be noted that none of the children lost any ROM in the time line of the experiment. Subjectively, the parents of the subjects stated that they believed there was an increase in their children's ability to walk and sit.

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