Publication Date
Winter 12-10-2023
Document Type
Student Project
First Advisor
Bonine, Ellen
Degree Name
B.S. (Bachelor of Science)
Department
School of Interdisciplinary Health
Abstract
Hippotherapy is a treatment tool that can be utilized by trained occupational therapists, speech language pathologists, and physical therapists. It involves the utilization of a horse’s movement to facilitate certain sensory, adaptive, neuromotor, cognitive, and physical responses from a patient. The purpose of this project is to examine how hippotherapy as a treatment tool in physical therapy benefits children with cerebral palsy. The examination of this subject matter was conducted in a case study format. For twelve weeks, one patient with cerebral palsy’s physical therapy sessions utilizing hippotherapy were observed. During these sessions, her progress towards reaching a specific functional goal, crossing midline dynamically, was tracked. The medium of presentation of these findings is video. A video medium allows viewers of this project to be able to visualize the results for themselves as hippotherapy is a non-traditional treatment tool, and individuals may not be familiar with the ways in which hippotherapy is integrated into a physical therapist’s treatment plan.
Recommended Citation
Kucienski, Grace, "Hippotherapy within Physical Therapy Treatment: Helping Patients with Cerebral Palsy Achieve Functional Goals" (2023). Honors Capstones. 1487.
https://huskiecommons.lib.niu.edu/studentengagement-honorscapstones/1487
Comments
This video can be accessed through the following link: https://youtu.be/pQs6bmaazuI