Breast Cancer: How Hippotherapy Bridges the Gap between Healing and Recovery—A Randomized Controlled Clinical Trial

SIMPLE SUMMARY: Breast cancer is the most diagnosed women’s cancer, and has a high survival rate nowadays. Because cancer is a systemic disease characterized by a variable course, heterogeneity and unequal environmental inputs, disparities in the person’s future are the norm. Despite enormous progress in the early accurate detection of breast cancer, and its treatments becoming more effective/precise, life reconstruction is well beyond the current care path. It requires comprehensive cross-sectoral approaches between different knowledge areas, and deeper consideration of the challenges the patients have to deal with. The psychological and social sciences must be integrated with the physiological sciences to build a robust patient-centered healthcare practice. We demonstrate, through this clinical trial, the therapeutic relevance of hippotherapy, a one-health approach, as a key initial stage after cancer diagnosis and treatment to foster recovery. Furthermore, hippotherapy has a strong impact on cancer treatments’ efficiency and reconstruction of the individuals’ shattered life and their ecosystem. This work reveals a layer of complexity that needs to be broadly considered. ABSTRACT: Background: Breast cancer is the most diagnosed women’s cancer, and has a high survival rate. Despite great progress in detection and treatment, life reconstruction requires comprehensive cross-sectoral approaches between different disciplines and deeper consideration of the patient’s challenges. Hippotherapy is an emerging specialized rehabilitation approach, performed by accredited health professionals and equine specialists, on specially trained horses via their movement, activating major paths for physical, mental, psychic and social reinforcement, and is synergistic to rehabilitative and supportive care. Methods: We conducted a randomized open, prospective, two-armed, controlled trial on the effectiveness of hippotherapy versus conventional supportive care on adult women with a diagnosis of breast cancer, after the period of primary treatment (surgery, chemotherapy, radiotherapy). The 6-month program included, in the treated group, an initial 1-week daily hippotherapy session, followed by three short 2-day sessions with an interval of 2 months between each, where the patients received conventional supportive care. The control group received 6 months of conventional supportive care. The primary end point was quality of life. Cognitive performances, fatigue, anxiety, depression, and body image were the secondary end points. Measurements were done through self-reported questionnaires. Results: We observed statistical differences in the evolution of the measured parameters over time between the two groups. The hippotherapy group showed a much faster, favorable and continuous improvement until the end of the program for each function assessed. The most striking improvements were observed in global quality of life, and fatigue, while breast cancer-specific quality of life, cognitive performance, anxiety and depression and body image showed a less marked but still statistically significant difference at the final post-treatment evaluation. Conclusions: We demonstrate the therapeutic relevance of hippotherapy, a one-health approach, as a key initial stage after cancer diagnosis and treatment to foster recovery. Furthermore, hippotherapy has a strong impact on cancer treatments’ efficiency and reconstruction of patient’s life and ecosystem. This work reveals a layer of complexity that needs to be broadly considered. Trial registration: ClincalTrials.gov NCT04350398 accessed on 1 January 2022. Registered 17 April 2020, retrospectively registered; French Clinical Trials in Cancer Register RECF3818. Registered 18 March 2019, retrospectively registered.