Study Finds Benefits of Therapeutic Horseback Riding for Military Vets With PTSD
There’s good news for military vets living with post-traumatic stress disorder: New evidence suggests that therapeutic horseback riding might help calm symptoms of PTSD. Equine therapy has been on the rise for years, and a recent study from the University of Missouri adds to the growing pile of proof that positive interaction with horses has many benefits.
Published in the journal Military Medical Research, the study was the first randomized, controlled trial of its kind to look at the effects of horses and THR in treating PTSD—and the results are promising. The study followed 29 military veterans with PTSD or PTSD with traumatic brain injury as they participated in a THR program once a week for six weeks, measuring PTSD symptoms at the three- and six-week marks.
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“Results showed that participants in the program experienced a significant decrease in PTSD scores, almost 67 percent, after just three weeks of THR,” said Rebecca Johnson, a professor in the MU College of Veterinary Medicine and the Millsap Professor of Gerontological Nursing in the Sinclair School of Nursing. “After six weeks, participants experienced an 87 percent drop in PTSD scores. Interestingly, the veterans who self-identified for the study all were from the Vietnam War era, meaning that some of these military veterans had been experiencing PTSD symptoms for 40 or 50 years.”
https://parade.com/657574/beckyhughes/study-finds-benefits-of-therapeutic-horseback-riding-for-military-vets-with-ptsd/
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