Application of a tri-axial accelerometry-based portable motion recorder for the quantitative assessment of hippotherapy in children and adolescents with cerebral palsy

Tomoko Mutoh, Tatsushi Mutoh, Makoto Takada, Misato Doumura, Masayo Ihara, Yasuyuki Taki, Hirokazu Tsubone, Masahiro Ihara, Tomoko Mutoh, Tatsushi Mutoh, Makoto Takada, Misato Doumura, Masayo Ihara, Yasuyuki Taki, Hirokazu Tsubone, Masahiro Ihara

Abstract

[Purpose] This case series aims to evaluate the effects of hippotherapy on gait and balance ability of children and adolescents with cerebral palsy using quantitative parameters for physical activity. [Subjects and Methods] Three patients with gait disability as a sequela of cerebral palsy (one female and two males; age 5, 12, and 25 years old) were recruited. Participants received hippotherapy for 30 min once a week for 2 years. Gait parameters (step rate, step length, gait speed, mean acceleration, and horizontal/vertical displacement ratio) were measured using a portable motion recorder equipped with a tri-axial accelerometer attached to the waist before and after a 10-m walking test. [Results] There was a significant increase in step length between before and after a single hippotherapy session. Over the course of 2 year intervention, there was a significant increase in step rate, gait speed, step length, and mean acceleration and a significant improvement in horizontal/vertical displacement ratio. [Conclusion] The data suggest that quantitative parameters derived from a portable motion recorder can track both immediate and long-term changes in the walking ability of children and adolescents with cerebral palsy undergoing hippotherapy.

Keywords: Cerebral palsy; Gait analysis; Hippotherapy.

Figures

Fig. 1.
Fig. 1.
Representative data showing improvements in horizontal and vertical displacement after a hippotherapy session Data are from participant 2 and were obtained 18 months after the start of the hippotherapy intervention. The left and right panels indicate vertical (Y-axis, vertical plane; X-axis, horizontal plane) and horizontal (Z-axis, anterior-posterior direction; X-axis, mediolateral direction) trunk displacement, respectively. Note the irregular trunk movement before the hippotherapy session (upper panels), and the improvements in symmetry, with reproducible figures-of-eight visible in the traces, after the hippotherapy session (lower panels).

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