In an space of Rome that after hosted horse races, 4 horses and two ponies transfer at a a lot slower tempo to assist sufferers being handled for neurological problems restore their motion and confidence.
With handles on the facet of their saddles, the animals on the San Giovanni Battista Hospital enable some individuals to take their first small steps after struggling trauma, strokes, degenerative ailments, in addition to lengthy COVID-19.
“It’s a beautiful feeling, to be able to stay in equilibrium, to be able to walk. It’s difficult but with the horse I can do it,” mentioned former taking pictures champion Matteo Santopadre, who depends on a wheelchair after a months-long coma following a automotive accident.
The hospital on the outskirts of Rome, the place town’s hippodrome was as soon as positioned, is the one one in Italy to make use of hippotherapy – which permits actions that will be more durable to hold out in a fitness center to enhance muscle energy, steadiness and coordination.
It additionally fosters connections between the animals and sufferers, who develop belief and affection for them in a gradual and sensory strategy with enormous psychological advantages.
The hospital’s program, which operates alongside conventional rehabilitation, has been working for a number of years. In 2023 it concerned greater than 600 sufferers.
Physiotherapist Giorgia De Santis says it helps {that a} horse “does not judge, is not prejudiced.”
“With its calm, quiet breathing and slow heartbeats (the horse) engages the patients and leads them to relax, let their guard down, let go. It makes everything easier for them, more welcoming,” she mentioned.
Giuliana Geatti and Paola Conto, each affected by Parkinson’s illness, say the hippotherapy provides them self-assurance and a brand new feeling of freedom.
“The contact with the animal is exceptional. Because it feels what you feel, you know?” Geatti mentioned, who leaned ahead to embrace the animal’s neck as she sat on its again.
Source: www.dailysabah.com