Treatment of infant colic with craniosacral therapy. A randomized controlled trial.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the number of craniosacral therapy sessions that can be helpful to obtain a resolution of the symptoms of infantile colic and to observe if there are any differences in the evolution obtained by the groups that received a different number of Craniosacral Therapy sessions at 24 days of treatment, compared with the control group which did not received any treatment. METHODS: Fifty-eight infants with colic were randomized into two groups of which 29 babies in the control group received no treatment and those in the experimental group received 1-3 sessions of craniosacral therapy (CST) until symptoms were resolved. Evaluations were performed until day 24 of the study. In this study crying hours served as primary outcome. The secondary outcome were the hours of sleep and the severity, measured by an Infantile Colic Severity Questionnaire (ICSQ). RESULTS: Significant statistical differences were observed in favor of experimental group compared to the control group on day 24 in crying hours (mean difference = 2.94, at 95 %CI = 2.30-3.58; p < 0.001) primary outcome, and also in hours of sleep (mean difference = 2.80; at 95 %CI = - 3.85 to - 1.73; p < 0.001) and colic severity (mean difference = 17.24; at 95 %CI = 14.42-20.05; p < 0.001) secondary outcomes. Also, the differences between the groups ≤ 2 CST sessions (n = 19), 3 CST sessions (n = 10) and control (n = 25) were statistically significant on day 24 of the treatment for crying, sleep and colic severity outcomes (p < 0.001). CONCLUSION: Babies with infantile colic may obtain a complete resolution of symptoms on day 24 by receiving 2 or 3 CST sessions compared to the control group, which did not receive any treatment.

Effectiveness of craniosacral therapy in the treatment of infantile colic. A randomized controlled trial.

OBJECTIVES: To determine the effectiveness of Craniosacral Therapy (CST) for the treatment of infantile colic. MATERIAL AND METHODS: This randomized controlled trial was conducted on 58 infants, aged 0-84 days, diagnosed with infantile colic. The babies received a 30-40 minute CST session once a week (experimental group) or no treatment (control group). Babies in the CST group received either 1, 2 or 3 CST sessions over a 14-day period. Data were collected at 4 different times over the 24-day period, day 0 (baseline), day 7, day 14 and day 24. Crying (primary outcome) and sleep (secondary outcome) were evaluated using a crying and sleep diary, and colic severity was measured using the Infant Colic Severity Questionnaire (secondary outcome). RESULTS: There was a statistically significant difference between groups (CST and control) in crying hours (F = 188.47; p < 0.0005; η2 = 0.78), sleep hours (F = 61.20; p < 0.0005, η2 = 0.54) and colic severity (F = 143.74; p < 0.0005, η2 = 0.73) across all the time points. In comparison with the control group, CST babies reported significant and clinically relevant effects in crying hours on day 7 (-2.47 h (95%CI, -2.95 to -1.99); p < 0.0005; d = 1.73), on day 14 (-3.29 h (95%CI, -3.7 to -2.8); p < 0.0005; d = 2.87) and on day 24 (-3.20 h (95%CI, -3.7 to -2.6); p < 0.0005; d = 2.54); in sleep hours on day 7 (-2.47 h (95%CI, -2.95 to -1.99); p < 0.0005; d = 1.73) on day 14 (-3.29 h (95%CI, -3.7 to -2.8); p < 0.0005; d = 2.87) and on day 24 (-3.20 h (95%CI, -3.7 to -2.6); p < 0.0005; d = 2.54). CONCLUSIONS: Craniosacral therapy appears to be effective and safe for infantile colic by reducing the number of crying hours, the colic severity and increasing the total hours of sleep.