DUBLIN, 27th June 2018. All over the world we have seen the astonishing progress and improvements patients often experience with hippotherapy. But until now there was no scientifically recognised proof of the effectiveness of hippotherapy. This trial aimed to investigate this effectiveness in accordance with the highest possible scientific standards. And this trial has now succeeded in providing right this.

To realise this high standard we had to collaborate with experts in many different fields and of course with Universities. Our partner for this trial was the University of Cologne.  Our object was to investigate the effect of hippotherapy plus standard care versus standard care alone in MS patients. The trial design was published 2016 in Contemporary Clinical Trials Communication.

70 adults with MS were recruited in five German centers and randomly allocated to the intervention group (12 weeks of hippotherapy) or the control group. The results: This study provides class I evidence that weekly hippotherapy plus standard care in comparison with standard care alone may improve balance function after 12 weeks. Also hippotherapy plus standard care significantly improves not only balance but also fatigue, spasticity, and quality of life in MS patients.

For more information see our film on Youtube: Hippotherapy for patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) – a multicenter randomized controlled trial