Heart rate response to therapeutic riding in children with cerebral palsy: an exploratory study.

PURPOSE: The study was designed to document the heart rate response to therapeutic riding in children with cerebral palsy having mild-to-severe disability.

METHODS

Participants consisted of eight youth riders with cerebral palsy, divided into two groups: ambulatory and wheelchair dependent. The riders received continuous digital heart rate monitoring during 10 weekly 20-minute therapeutic horseback riding sessions.

RESULTS

The averaged resting, median, and peak heart rate values, as well as the peak percentage heart rate reserve values, were significantly higher in the wheelchair-dependent group.

CONCLUSIONS

The youth with severe disability (The Gross Motor Function Classification System level IV) who were wheelchair dependent demonstrated higher heart rate values during therapeutic riding than their ambulatory counterparts. In view of these higher heart rate values, further studies are needed to address the role of monitoring heart rate response during therapeutic riding.