Pulmonary Function and Aerobic Capacity Responses to Equine Assisted Therapy in Adolescents with Idiopathic Scoliosis: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Authors

  • Mohamed A. Abdel Ghafar Physical Therapy Program, Batterjee Medical College, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7907-3613
  • Osama R. Abdelraouf Physical Therapy Program, Batterjee Medical College, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia; Department of Biomechanics, Faculty of Physical Therapy, Cairo University, Giza, Egypt https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6888-5480
  • Amr A. Abdel-aziem Department of Biomechanics, Faculty of Physical Therapy, Cairo University, Giza, Egypt https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8448-9218
  • Tamer E. Elnegamy Department of Physical Therapy and Health Rehabilitation, College of Applied Medical Sciences, Prince Sattam Bin Abdelaziz University, Al-Kharj, Saudi Arabia https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5011-8619
  • Mariam E. Mohamed Physical Therapy Program, Batterjee Medical College, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia; Department of Physical Therapy for Cardiovascular/Respiratory Disorders and Geriatrics, Faculty of Physical Therapy, Cairo University, Giza, Egypt https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2169-9864
  • Amr M. Yehia Department of Musculoskeletal Disorders and its Surgery, Faculty of Physical Therapy, 6th October University, Giza, Egypt https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5428-4286
  • Gihan Samir Mousa Department of Physical Therapy for Cardiovascular/Respiratory Disorders and Geriatrics, Faculty of Physical Therapy, Cairo University, Giza, Egypt; Physical Therapy Department, Faculty of Applied Medical Sciences, Umm Al-Qura University, Makkah, Saudi Arabia https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8469-9207

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.2340/jrm.v54.1085

Keywords:

Equine-Assisted Therapy, Schroth method, Idiopathic Scoliosis, pulmonary function

Abstract

Background: Idiopathic scoliosis is a common spinal malalignment that negatively impacts the respiratory system and physical conditioning in adolescents. Equine-assisted therapy comprises therapeutic horseback riding that optimizes physical performance and mobility in a range of contexts. However, the influence of equine-assisted therapy on pulmonary function remains unclear.
Objective: To examine the impact of 10 weeks of hippotherapy combined with Schroth exercises on pulmonary function and aerobic capacity in adolescents with idiopathic scoliosis.
Methods: A randomized controlled trial including 45 patients, randomly assigned to experimental and control groups, was performed. Patients in the experimental group received 15 30-min sessions of hippotherapy over a period of 10 weeks. The 2 groups attended a 60-min session of Schroth exercises 3 times/week for 10 weeks. Pulmonary function and functional capacity were assessed before and after the intervention.
Results: Pre- and post-intervention variables (FVC, FEV1, FEV1/FVC, MVV and 6MWT) revealed significant improvement in both groups (p < 0.05). The improvement in the experimental group was significantly higher than in the control group (p < 0.05).
Conclusion: The addition of hippotherapy to Schroth exercises resulted in improved pulmonary function and aerobic capacity in adolescents with idiopathic scoliosis.

LAY ABSTRACT
Scoliosis is a 3-dimensional spine deformation disorder that has direct consequences on the thoracic cage, resulting in lung constriction and functional difficulties in adolescents. Conservative therapy approaches are mostly designed to correct the spinal bony curvature rather than address adverse negative deterioration. This study investigated the effect of hippotherapy (equine therapy) in combination with Schroth exercises on pulmonary function and aerobic capacity in adolescents with idiopathic scoliosis. The combination of hippotherapy with Schroth exercises had a significant benefit compared with Schroth exercises alone. Horseback riding therapy could be an innovative complementary physical therapy technique for improving respiratory and physical functioning in adolescents with idiopathic scoliosis.

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Published

2022-06-23

How to Cite

Abdel Ghafar, M. A., Abdelraouf, O. R., Abdel-aziem, A. A., Elnegamy, T. E., Mohamed, M. E., Yehia, A. M., & Mousa, G. S. (2022). Pulmonary Function and Aerobic Capacity Responses to Equine Assisted Therapy in Adolescents with Idiopathic Scoliosis: A Randomized Controlled Trial: . Journal of Rehabilitation Medicine, 54, jrm00296. https://doi.org/10.2340/jrm.v54.1085

Issue

Vol. 54 (2022)

Section

Original Report

Categories

License

Copyright (c) 2022 Mohamed A. Abdel Ghafar, Osama R. Abdelraouf, Amr A. Abdel-aziem, Tamer E. Elnegamy, Mariam E. Mohamed, Amr M. Yehia, Gihan Samir Mousa

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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.

All digitalized JRM contents is available freely online. The Foundation for Rehabilitation Medicine owns the copyright for all material published until volume 40 (2008), as from volume 41 (2009) authors retain copyright to their work and as from volume 49 (2017) the journal has been published Open Access, under CC-BY-NC licences (unless otherwise specified). The CC-BY-NC licenses allow third parties to copy and redistribute the material in any medium or format and to remix, transform, and build upon the material for non-commercial purposes, provided proper attribution to the original work.
From 2024, articles are published under the CC-BY licence. This license permits sharing, adapting, and using the material for any purpose, including commercial use, with the condition of providing full attribution to the original publication.

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