Towards Infant Kick Quality Detection to Support Physical Therapy and Early Detection of Cerebral Palsy: A Pilot Study

Abstract Background Physical therapy treatments incorporating equine movement are recognized as an effective tool to treat functional mobility and balance in children with cerebral palsy (CP). To date, only a few studies examined kinematic outputs of the horses and children when mounted. In this pilot study, to better understand the effectiveness of this type of treatment, we examined the interaction between the horses and children with CP during physical therapy sessions where equine movement was utilized. Methods Four children with CP participated in eight physical therapy sessions incorporating hippotherapy as a treatment intervention. Functional mobility was assessed using the Timed Up Go or the 10 m Walk Test. Inertial measurement unit sensors, attached to children and horses, recorded movements and tracked acceleration, angular velocity, and body orientation. Correlation between vertical accelerations of children and horses were analyzed. In addition, peak frequencies of vertical accelerations of children and horses were compared. Results Functional tests modestly improved over time. The children’s movements, (quantified in frequency and temporal domains) increasingly synchronized to the vertical movement of the horse’s walk, demonstrated by reduced frequency errors and increased correlation. Conclusions The findings suggest that as the sessions progressed, the participants appeared to become more familiar with the horse’s movement. Since the horse’s gait at a walk mimics the human gait this type of treatment may provide individuals with CP, who have abnormal gait patterns, an opportunity for their neuromuscular system to experience a typical gait pattern. The horse’s movement at the walk are consistent, cyclical, rhythmical, reciprocal and multi-dimensional, all of which can facilitate motor learning. The increased synchronization between horse and the mounted participant suggests that physical therapy utilizing equine movement is a viable treatment tool to enhance functional mobility. This study may provide a useful baseline for future work. Trial registrationTexas A&M University Institutional Review Board. IRB2018-0064. Registered 8 March 2018. Link: https://rcb.tamu.edu/humans/irb and https://github.com/pilwonhur/HPOT

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Physical Therapy Treatments Incorporating Equine Movement: A Pilot Study Exploring Kinetic Interactions between Children with Cerebral Palsy and the Horse

10.21203/rs.3.rs-382424/v1 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Priscilla Lightsey ◽

Yonghee Lee ◽

Nancy Krenek ◽

Pilwon Hur

Keyword(s):

Cerebral Palsy ◽

Pilot Study ◽

Physical Therapy ◽

Functional Mobility ◽

Human Gait ◽

Measurement Unit ◽

Abnormal Gait ◽

Children With Cerebral Palsy ◽

Vertical Accelerations ◽

Therapy Sessions

Abstract BackgroundPhysical therapy treatments incorporating equine movement is recognized as an effective tool to treat functional mobility and balance in children with cerebral palsy (CP). To date, only a few studies examined kinematic outputs of the horses and children when mounted. In this pilot study, we examined the interaction between the horses and children with CP during physical therapy sessions where equine movement was utilized to better understand the effectiveness of this type of treatment.MethodsFour children with CP participated in eight physical therapy sessions incorporating hippotherapy as a treatment intervention. Functional mobility was assessed using the Timed Up Go or 10m Walk Test. Inertial measurement unit sensors, attached to children and horses, recorded movements and tracked acceleration, angular velocity, and body orientation. Correlation between vertical accelerations of children and horses were analyzed. In addition, peak frequencies of vertical accelerations of children and horses were compared.ResultsFunctional tests modestly improved over time. The children’s movements, (quantified in frequency and temporal domains) increasingly synchronized to the vertical movement of the horse’s walk, demonstrated by reduced frequency errors and increased correlation.ConclusionsThe findings suggest that as the sessions progressed, the participants appeared to become more familiar with the horse’s movement. Since the horse’s gait at a walk mimics the human gait this type of treatment may provide individuals with CP, who have abnormal gait patterns, an opportunity for the neuromuscular system to experience a typical gait pattern. The horse’s movement at the walk are consistent, cyclical, rhythmical, reciprocal and multi-dimensional which can facilitate motor learning. Thus, the increased synchronization between horse and the mounted participant suggests that physical therapy utilizing equine movement is a viable treatment tool to enhance functional mobility. This study may provide a useful baseline for future work.Trial registrationTexas A&M University Institutional Review Board. IRB2018-0064. Registered 8 March 2018. Link: https://rcb.tamu.edu/humans/irb and https://github.com/pilwonhur/HPOT

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