RESUMEN
STUDY DESIGN: Assessment of spasticity before and after hippotherapy treatment. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the short-term effect of hippotherapy on spasticity of spinal cord injured patients (SCIs). SETTING: Swiss Paraplegic Centre, Nottwil. METHODS: 32 patients with spinal cord injury with various degrees of spasticity had repeated sessions (mean 11) of Hippotherapy-K. Spasticity of the lower extremities was scored according to the Ashworth Scale. RESULTS: In primary rehabilitation patients Ashworth values after hippotherapy were significantly lower than before (Wilcoxon's signed-rank test: P<0.001). Highest improvements were observed in SCIs with very high spasticity. No significant difference between short-term effect in paraplegic and short-term effect in tetraplegic subjects was found. CONCLUSIONS: Hippotherapy significantly reduces spasticity of lower extremities in SCIs.