Análisis y valoración del control postural mediante indicadores basados en acelerometríaPropuesta de aplicación en hipoterapia

Abstract

Scientific research and clinical practice shows the positive effects hippotherapy in control and postural stability, balance, gait and gross motor function in people with disabilities. The main objective is to propose a method of objective assessment in order to analyze the interaction of the movement of the horse-rider binomial and its application as a tool to assess and guide the intervention in hippotherapy. METHODS: an observational study in people with cerebral palsy and a control group, the factor under study (the movement of the horse) and effect (the transmission of movement to the rider) are relate. A record of accelerometry was performed using four triaxial accelerometers placed on the rider and the horse's group, in a test that simulates a session of hippotherapy. RESULTS: 70 records were analyzed. Both the analysis in the time domain and the frequency domain, significant differences in behavior between the two groups. CONCLUSIONS: Riding implies a movement transmission horse rider regardless of capacity thereof; Horse morphological characteristics influence the movement transmitted to the rider; accelerometry has proved qualify as a system of objective assessment useful in hippotherapy, as the stability of a person on horseback could be worth considering as an indicator of the degree of harmonization between the motion of the horse and rider, and therefore this indicator can be useful for both the assessment and for the guidance of therapeutic interventions in hippotherapy.