earticle

영어

The purpose of this study was to identify the effect of a mechanical horseback riding on trunk control and balance function in patients with post-stroke hemiparesis. Six subjects with post-stroke hemiparesis volunteered to participate in this study. All subjects underwent the mechanical horseback riding training for averaging 30 minutes daily for 4 weeks (total of 20 sessions). Assessment tools were made with trunk control test (TCT), postural assessment scale for stroke (PASS), Berg balance scale (BBS), and timed up and go test (TUG) before and after the 4-week training period. TCT, PASS, BBS and TUG showed significant improvement after the mechanical horseback riding training (p<0.05). This study demonstrates that a mechanical horseback riding training may be favorable for enhancing trunk control and balance ability of patients with post-stroke hemiparesis. This study provides valuable information for future studies in this field. Further studies with wider range of participants and longer experiment span are required to strengthen the results of present study.