2025 American Academy of Neurology Abstract Website

Moaz Abouelmagd¹, Asmaa Zakria Alnajjar², Ahmed Elshahat³, Belal Mohamed³, Ismail Ibrahim⁴, Ahmed Abdelaziz³
¹Kasr-alainy faculty of medicine, Cairo University, Egypt, ²Faculty of Medicine, Al-Azhar University, Gaza, Palestine., ³Faculty of Medicine, Al-Azhar University, Cairo, Egypt, ⁴Faculty of Health Sciences, Fenerbahce University, Istanbul, Turkey

Objective:

This study aims to summarize the evidence on the effect of hippotherapy on postural control and balance in stroke patients

Background:

hemiparesis and balance impairments are common post-stroke complications, affecting the functional capacity and daily life activities of patients. Hippotherapy, a therapeutic intervention using horses or mechanical devices, has shown promise in improving stroke patients' balance, postural control, and mobility.

Design/Methods:

This study followed PRISMA guidelines for systematic review. The search was conducted through major databases like PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, Embase, and CENTRAL with relevant keywords. Review manager software was used for meta-analysis.

Results:

Ten studies were included in our systematic review. Seven studies were included in our meta-analysis compromising evidence from 238 patients. Hippotherapy was found to provide superior balance scores compared to control on the Berg balance scale (MD= 1.72, 95% CI= [1.38, 2.07], P<000.1) and timed up-and-go test (MD= -2.97 seconds, 95% CI= [-4.83, -1.11], P=0.002). These improvements were also found in other measurement tools such as the 10-meter-walk test and the center of pressure test.

Conclusions:

Our results suggest that hippotherapy may provide a better alternative to traditional exercise for post-stroke balance rehabilitation. However, further large RCT studies are needed to support the robustness of our results.