Horseback riding rehab proven to be healing for children with ADHD (Image: the Korean Horse Affairs Association)
SEOUL, South Korea, Dec 13 (Korea Bizwire) – According to a new research, the efficacy of horseback riding rehabilitation matches that of medications for children with Attention Deficit
Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), and is perhaps even stronger.
The team led by professor Yu Sook Joung at Seoul Samsung Hospital’s Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Clinic held a public announcement on December 12 and presented the result of their research on ADHD and horseback riding rehab in which they discovered that there was a meaningful relationship between horseback riding rehab and ADHD treatment. So far, there have been studies done on this subject, and however, this research was the first to prove clinically and scientifically that there was a direct relationship between the two.
This research project was initially referred by Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry and the Korean Horse Affairs Association to Seoul Samsung Hospital, November last year. Seoul Samsung Hospital then preceded with the project by conducting the two different types of treatments – horseback riding rehab and medical treatment – separately on two different groups of children with ADHD who were of ages 6 to 13 for twelve weeks. The children were tested in 14 categories such as Quantitative Electroencephalography (QEEG) and Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) before and after the treatments, and high-tech diagnostic examination devices were used to test them.
Based on the result of the research, the team came to a conclusion that the ADHD symptoms among the children treated with horseback riding rehab method not only significantly improved but results in some categories even excelled those of the medication group.
Professor Joung said, “I am very surprised by the fact that the horseback riding rehabilitation is just as effect as or even more effective than medical treatment because previously many were doubtful.”
Sang Young Lee, Director of Horse Industry Headquarter at the Korean Horse Affairs Association also participated in the announcing event and expressed his excitement in this new finding by saying that he was glad that horseback riding rehab’s effectiveness finally had proven to be no canard. He emphasized that horseback riding rehab had many merits such as having no side effects but having exercising effects. Finally he said he expected the horseback riding rehab to play more pivotal roles in treating ADHD in the future.
In light of its attempts to give back to the society, the Korean Horse Affairs Association, starting from last year, established ‘Horseback Riding Healing Centers’ in Incheon, Siheung and Daegu where it is also supporting their operations. The Korean Horse Affairs Association is hoping that, with the research results exposed to the public, its Centers will gain attentions as well.
However, some experts are criticizing this research, saying that the number of subjects who participated in the research was too small and also the rehab period was too short. However, they unanimously admitted that it was a very meaning study being the first in the field to try to find the relationship between the horseback riding rehabilitation and ADHD clinically and scientifically.
