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. 2022 May 9;12(5):619.
doi: 10.3390/brainsci12050619.

Neurorehabilitation through Hippotherapy on Neurofunctional Sequels of Stroke: Effect on Patients' Functional Independence, Sensorimotor/Cognitive Capacities and Quality of Life, and the Quality of Life of Their Caregivers-A Study Protocol

Hélène Viruega  1   2 , Carole Imbernon  3 , Nicolas Chausson  3 , Tony Altarcha  3 , Manvel Aghasaryan  3 , Djibril Soumah  3 , Edwige Lescieux  3 , Constance Flamand-Roze  3 , Olivier Simon  4 , Arnaud Bedin  4 , Didier Smadja  3 , Manuel Gaviria  1   2
Affiliations

Neurorehabilitation through Hippotherapy on Neurofunctional Sequels of Stroke: Effect on Patients' Functional Independence, Sensorimotor/Cognitive Capacities and Quality of Life, and the Quality of Life of Their Caregivers-A Study Protocol

Hélène Viruega et al. Brain Sci. .

Abstract

Background: Stroke is a high burden illness and the second leading cause of worldwide disability with generally poor recovery rates. Robust benefits of hippotherapy, a novel neurorehabilitation approach, in functional recovery following various severe neurological disabling conditions has been shown. In the present study, we will analyze the effect of a hippotherapy program on the outcome of post-stroke patients in the first year post-stroke.

Method: A randomized controlled clinical trial on the effectiveness of hippotherapy (4 weeks/18 weeks hippotherapy/conventional neurorehabilitation) versus conventional neurorehabilitation alone (22 weeks) will be conducted over 48 weeks. In the treated group, one-hour daily hippotherapy sessions will be exclusively conducted during the hippotherapy's cycles, alternated with periods of conventional neurorehabilitation. A test battery will measure both the functional and psychological outcomes. The primary endpoint will be the patient's functional independence. The secondary endpoints will measure the sensorimotor function, autonomy, and quality of life, as well as the caregivers' quality of life.

Results and conclusion: Individual brain connectome, life history and personality construct influence the brain's functional connectivity and are central to developing optimal tailored neurorehabilitation strategies. According to our current practice, hippotherapy allows the enhancement of substantial neuroplastic changes in the injured brain with significant neurological recovery. The protocol aims to confirm those issues. Trial registration in ClinicalTrials.gov NCT04759326 accessed on 19 February 2021.

Keywords: autonomy; cerebrovascular accident; functional deficit; hippotherapy; neuroplasticity; neurorehabilitation; quality of life; silent neurofunctional barriers.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Protocol’s scheme.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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