This video demonstrates how simply walking works on head and trunk control. That helmet looks really heavy for a child working so hard to keep his head up. Maybe one of the lighter foam or cloth helmets would be better. When I took my AHA courses-the PT even suggested no helmet, which sounded like heresy to me.
Friday, June 18, 2010
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Just a note: poor head control is a NARHA contraindication due to the possibility for injury and micro-trauma. If the patient is unable to safely wear an ASTM/SEI approved equestrian helmet a cloth/foam helmet will not protect them in the event of a fall from the horse. People with significant limitations in head control (such as this child) are perhaps better served in a traditional therapy clinic until they gain sufficient head control to accommodate to the equines' movement (seen here to be so slow and choppy that it may not be very beneficial) and weight of the helmet. If a therapist is holding the childs head it probably isn't a very safe situation. Although not all therapists follow NARHA guidelines, they are the industry safety standards and have been developed by therapists and instructors to protect the recipients of therapeutic riding and hippotherapy services- do no harm being the motto.
ReplyDeleteI agree that therapists need to look carefully at head control and appropriateness for hipoptherapy. The child in this video (who is not my client- I only copied this from youtube) seems to have very poor head control and the heavy helmet is making it worse.
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