[Purpose] Hippotherapy is a therapeutic resource that uses the horse as a kinesiotherapy instrument to elicit motor and cognitive improvements in individuals with special needs. [Subjects and Methods] This research evaluated two women aged 18 and 21 years, who had suffered sexual violence when they were children between the ages of 6 and 7 years old. The subjects did not have mental dysfunction but they were regular students registered at a school of special education. The patients presented severe motor limitation, difficulty with coordination, significant muscular retractions, thoracic and cervical kyphosis, cervical protrusion wich was basically a function of the postures they had adopted when victims of the sexual violence suffered in childhood. The patients performed twenty sessions of 30 minutes of hippotherapy on a horse. The activities were structured to stimulate coordination, proprioception, the vestibular and motor-sensorial systems for the improvement of posture, muscle activity and cognition. [Results] The activities provided during the hippotherapy sessions elicited alterations in postural adjustment resulting in 30% improvement, 80% improvement in coordination in, 50% improvement in corporal balance and in sociability and self-esteem. [Conclusion] Hippotherapy proved to be an effective treatment method for coordination, balance and postural correction, and also improved the patients’ self-esteem that had suffered serious emotional stress.

BACKGROUND: Spinal pain is an important public health issue that brings biopsychosocial problems. Global Postural Re-education (GPR) is one of its treatments. OBJECTIVE: Evaluate the effects of GPR on pain, flexibility, and posture of individuals with non-specific low back pain and/or neck pain for more than six weeks. METHODS: The study enrolled 18 individuals, which were randomized into two groups: GPR group (GPRG; n= 09), submitted to 10 sessions of GPR and control group (CG; n= 09), not submitted to any technique. The evaluations were done before and after the GPRG sessions, for pain perception (Visual Analogue Scale – VAS), flexibility (finger-floor test) and posture (SAPO). The re-evaluation was done in the GPRG after the end of 10 treatment sessions and, in the GC, after the time equivalent to 10 sessions. The level of significance was set at p< 0.05. RESULTS: This pilot study has no homogeneity between groups. GPRG presented improvement in pain and flexibility, but showed no changes in posture. In the CG, there was no difference in the variables evaluated in this study. CONCLUSION: GPR had positive effects on pain and flexibility, but did not present a significant effect on posture.

Avaliar os efeitos da drenagem linfática na prevenção e diminuição do edemade membros inferiores em gestantes no segundo e terceiro trimestre gestacional.Trata-se de uma série de caso. A população foi composta por 10 gestantes no segundoe terceiro trimestre gestacional. A drenagem linfática foi realizada com a paciente emdecúbito dorsal, a 45 graus. Foi iniciada com a estimulação na região cervical por 15minutos, em seguida estímulos nos linfonodos inguinais de ambos os membros inferiores,poplíteo e maleolar. Cada membro inferior foi drenado durante 20 minutos.Houve redução do edema nos membros inferiores das gestantes em média de doiscentímetros logo após a primeira sessão (efeito agudo) e após a última sessão (efeitotardio) com redução de até cinco centímetros. Houve diferença significativa tanto noefeito agudo quanto no efeito tardio em relação à dor e a fadiga nos membros inferiores.Todas as gestantes ficaram satisfeitas e recomendariam o tratamento. A técnica dedrenagem linfática manual se mostrou eficiente na prevenção e diminuição do edema,dor e fadiga nos membros inferiores em fase aguda e no efeito tardio. Todas as gestantesficaram satisfeitas com a drenagem linfática e recomendariam o tratamento.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the response of a single whole-body vibration (WBV) training session to peripheral skin temperature and peripheral blood flow of older adults with type 2 diabetes. A double-blind, controlled clinical trial was conducted following the Consolidated Standards of Reporting Trials (CONSORT) guidelines. A single session of WBV (24 Hz; amplitude 4 mm; vibration time 45 s, with a series of eight repetitions with recovery between repetitions of 30 s; total time of 10 min) or sham vibration on the Kikos P204 Vibrating Platform was employed. To assess skin temperature, the FLIR E40bxs thermographic camera and the ultrasonic vascular Doppler for flow velocity were used. Evaluation occurred before and after a WBV or sham intervention. The sample consisted of three men and 17 women. In the WBV group, there was a decrease in the temperature from 29.7 °C (±1.83) to 26.6 °C (±2.27), with p = 0.01. Temperature following sham decreased from 28.6 °C (±1.84) to 26.3 °C (±2.49), with p = 0.01. Regarding blood flow, there was a decrease in the analyzed arteries, especially the left posterior tibial artery, where there was a statistically significant flow reduction from 27.1 m/s (±25.36) to 20.5 m/s (±19.66), post WBV (p = 0.01). In the sham group, an increased flow velocity was observed for all the arteries analyzed, except for the left dorsal artery. Immediately following a full-body vibration session, peripheral skin temperature and lower-limb blood flow tend to decrease in diabetic patients. However, from the design of study developed, we cannot infer the maintenance of this effect in the medium and long term.

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