Hippotherapy For Scoliosis

Hippotherapy entails the use of riding horses to treat neurological, muscular, psychological, orthopedic and other types of mental and motor dysfunctions. For hippotherapy, scoliosis is categorized as a neurologically based movement dysfunction.

Scoliosis

• Scoliosis is abnormal lateral curvature of the spine. It can be caused by diseases such as muscular dystrophy, polio or cerebral palsy. Orthopedic patients can develop it, as can paraplegics and quadriplegics. Sometimes the cause is unknown.

Horses

• Qualified professionals can outfit specially chosen and trained horses with customized riding tack determined for each client's use. A prescription is necessary to begin hippotherapy.

Role of Horses

• The horse is used as a therapeutic device to get muscular, neurological and mental responses from the client. The horse handler, the physiotherapist, the psychologist and volunteer handlers combine to develop a routine that benefits each particular client.

Riding Skills

• The client does not have to know how to ride a horse and does not learn riding skills during hippotherapy. The object is to experience the horse's movements and react to them.

Benefits of Hippotherapy

• According to Austrian physiotherapist Emmy Tauffkirchen at the Sixth International Congress on Animals and Us in 1992, "The three-dimensional motion coming from the back of the walking horse affects the sitting patient and provokes a reactive sitting pattern." When properly deployed, that can improve posture, mobility and balance.