The effect of hippotherapy on people with multiple sclerosis, a systematic review

Abstract

Background: It is a fact that Multiple Sclerosis is a neurodegenerative disease with severe symptoms that make everyday life of patients difficult as it progresses. There are several types of treatments aimed at limiting and delaying the onset of its symptoms. Hippotherapy being an innovative method of intervention, supported by several studies on its positive effects on various neurological disorders, is now under the microscope with the aim of testing its impact on the clinical picture and the functioning of people suffering from Multiple Sclerosis.

Methods: For the needs of this systematic review, articles were extracted from the following databases: PubMed, Scopus, Cochrane Library, EBSCO. The following keywords were also used: multiple sclerosis, MS, hippotherapy, therapeutic horseback riding, therapeutic horseback ride, therapeutic horse ride, therapeutic horse riding, equine assisted therapy, equine therapy. Specific inclusion criteria were set for the selection of studies and specific exclusion criteria were set for the rejection of studies. The selection and rejection process were carried out separately by two examiners. The PEDro scale was used to check the quality of the studies included in this systematic review.

Result: To conduct the results from the 428 original studies 5 randomised controlled trials were finally analysed and evaluated. As a result, effects of hippotherapy were observed for several symptoms in people with MS, including impaired balance, fatigue, spasticity, pain, reduced quality of life, decreased muscle strength, difficulty walking, and poor endurance.

Conclusion: Hippotherapy appears to have positive effects (balance, fatigue, gait, spasticity, pain, muscle strength and quality of life) as an intervention method on the clinical picture of people with MS. Of major importance, however, is to conduct future research into the field of hippotherapy in relation to MS in order to generate more valid, qualitative, research material. The aim of this systematic review was to examine studies related to the effect of hippotherapy as an intervention method in patients with MS. Specifically, it seeks to explore whether hippotherapy contributes to measurable benefits for individuals living with this condition.

Keywords: Hippotherapy; Multiple sclerosis; Systematic review; Therapeutic riding.