Effects of hippotherapy on upper extremity functions in children with cerebral palsy

Purpose: The purpose of our study was to investigate the effects of hippotherapy on upper extremity functions in children with cerebral palsy (CP). Materials and Methods: The study was carried out with a quasi-hippotherapy design by evaluating the hippotherapy and control groups with pretests and posttests. Sixteen children with CP who were treated with 30 minutes of additional hippotherapy three times a week for five weeks were included in the hippotherapy group. Eleven children with CP who had conventional physiotherapy were recruited for the control group. Upper extremity functions were evaluated before and after the intervention using the Box and Block Test (BBT) and the Jebsen Taylor Hand Function Test (JTHFT). Results: There were no significant differences between the hippotherapy and control groups in terms of their baseline BBT and JTHFT scores. After 5 -weeks, no statistically significant difference was found between the BBT scores of the hippotherapy and control groups. Significant increases were detected in all parameters of JTHFT in the posttest in the hippotherapy group, compared to the pretest. Moreover, in the posttest, a statistically significant difference was found between the hippotherapy and control groups in the parameters of turning over cards and picking up small objects, which subscales of JTHFT. Conclusion: In children with CP, hippotherapy provided in addition to conventional treatment was an effective practice, especially in improving fine motor skills in the hands.