'Horse therapy helped my daughter'

[Guest guest]

'Horse therapy helped my daughter'

By Jane Elliott

Health reporter, BBC News

The horse's movement can relax the body

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/6529471.stm

Elizabete Gouveia has cerebral palsy, cannot stand or sit up by

herself and needs regular physiotherapy.

But for the last few months she has been enjoying horse riding as

part of her treatment regime.

Her father , from Vedras, Portugal, says the treatment -

known as hippotherapy - is proving very beneficial to three-year-

old Elizabete.

" She is not afraid of the horse and we have found she is more

relaxed after the treatment.

Benefits

" Her legs particularly are more relaxed and we have seen a big

difference since she started the therapy.

" Now she even looks forward to having her therapy, " he said.

The therapy, which is also available in the UK, is used to help

people of all ages with different physical or psychological

difficulties.

Her legs particularly are more relaxed

Treatment involves putting patients on horseback in a variety of

positions and adapting to the horse's movements and working on co-

ordination and posture.

Catia Roche, Elizabete's physical therapist at CampoReal, in

Portugal, said she had noticed that using hippotherapy increased

mobility and muscle relaxation, improved tone and decreased

involuntary movement as well as boosting the rider's self-esteem.

" The temperature of the horse is about 38 degrees, so their warmth

helps make the patients' limbs easier to work with. "

She added that the three-dimensional movement of the horse's pelvis

also leads to a movement response in the patient's pelvis, which is

similar to the pattern of walking - something some of her patients

cannot do.

What benefits using a horse gives

The movement stimulates postural responses - it encourages people to

sit up

Sitting astride a horse increases the base area of support

The rhythm of the horse at walk affects muscle tone and helps to

reduce muscle spasm.

The temperature of the horse, higher than that of a human, is very

relaxing and helps to increase blood supply and release tight

tissues.

" We have been using the hippotherapy here since January, but I have

been training in it for two years, " she said.

" I have really found it helps with the co-ordination and after

hippotherapy they stay relaxed for longer.

" After physical therapy I have found that they are relaxed for one

to two hours, but after hippotherapy the benefits can last for up to

five hours.

" I find that people are also calmer and less stressed out, following

their 30 minute sessions. "

Conditions

She said she was currently using hippotherapy for people with

cerebral palsy, spina bifida, multiple sclerosis, people who have

suffered trauma and those with neurological problem.

Lesley Furnell, a physiotherapist for Revive Scotland, which works

with MS patients, said hippotherapy is very different from riding

for the disabled, which has been around for over thirty years.

She said that hippotherapy, which was first used in the 90s, is

growing in popularity now in the UK and she has waiting lists of

people with MS wanting to use it.

" The courses have become so popular I have had to limit them to 10

weeks each, otherwise it would not be fair on the others. Everyone

who does it seems to enjoy it.

" It uses the three dimensional movement of the horse's hips, pelvis

and shoulders at the walk to provide a movement challenge to the

rider and I consider it to have been a success when the rider can

replicate what they feel when they are on the horse to what they

feel when walking.

" Hippotherapy is a unique treatment, which cannot be rivalled or

reproduced by any other therapeutic method or piece of equipment, "

she added.

But a spokesperson for Scope, the charity for those with cerebral

palsy said that although they are aware of the benefits of

hippotherapy it should not be thought of as a cure.

" As with all treatments and therapies, Scope would recommend caution

and consultation.

" There are no cures for cerebral palsy; rather it is important to

promote independence and equality for disabled people.

" Some people will find relaxation in horse riding, and there are

benefits in the warmth and movements of the horse in improving

circulation. And it can be fun and exciting for children with CP,

the same as it is for non-disabled children "