Avaliação eletromiográfica de membros inferiores e da função motora em praticantes de Equoterapia com Paralisia Cerebral

Abstract

Introduction: Cerebral Palsy (CP) considered as a disorder of movement or posture due to non-progressive and multifactorial brain injury, occurs during the period of brain development and is limited to the first years of life. Hippotherapy, as a therapeutic resource using the horse and its three-dimensional movement, is a good intervention strategy to improve the functionality of children with CP, since they require continuous, repetitive and multi-stimulus treatment. Objective: Investigation of the effects of hippotherapy treatment on lower limb muscle activity and gross motor function in subjects with cerebral palsy (CP), comparing them to a group of subjects with adequate motor development. Methods: Evaluation was made in seven individuals with spastic diparetic CP, average age 9.3 (±3.3) years (CP group), Gross Motor Function Classification System (GMFCS) levels I and II, and eight individuals with adequate motor development, average age 10.9 (±3.2) years (control group). The groups were submitted to 25 sessions of hippotherapy, each lasting 30 minutes, on a weekly basis, and the muscle activity of the lower limbs was evaluated using surface electromyography during the 1st, 10th, 20th, and 25th sessions. The muscles evaluated were: Reto Femoralis, Vastus Lateralis and Medialis, and Tibial Anterior, bilaterally. For the CP group, gross motor function measurement (GMFM- 88) was performed before and after hippotherapy treatment. Results: There was higher muscle activity in the 10th session, compared to the other sessions, with greater activity of the tibialis anterior muscles. After treatment, the CP group showed significant improvement in the GMFM total score, and in the scores for dimensions D and E. Conclusion: Hippotherapy sessions improved the muscle responses in both groups, and improved the gross motor function of the subjects with CP.