Manual therapy of infants with postural and movement asymmetries and positional preference

Background There are different therapeutic approaches to persistent positional preference (kinematic imbalance due to suboccipital strain, KISS) in infants. There are no evidence-based or controlled studies investigating the effect of manual medicine treatment in children aged 3–6 months, particularly in combination with a home exercise programme. The presented monocentric study on one-time manual medicine treatment of infants aged 14–24 exhibiting these symptoms aims to close this gap. Methods This study comprises a controlled double-blind trial and per-protocol-analysis. Primary outcome was the 4-item symmetry score (4–17 points). The second measurement was performed after 4–6 weeks. Results A total of 62 infants were treated and evaluated (mean age 17 weeks). The intervention and control groups started with a symmetry score of 12.9 ± 2.1 and 12.5 ± 1.7 points, respectively. In the intervention group the score improved by 4.9 ± 2.4 to 8.0 ± 2.7 points, in the control group it improved by 2.9 ± 2.9 to 9.6 ± 3.0 points. The difference between the groups was statistically significant ( p = 0.03). Both groups had significantly better values over time ( p < 0.001). No adverse events or side effects were observed. Conclusion Manual medicine treatment of infants with postural and movement asymmetries as well as positional preference in combination with a home exercise programme is superior to a home exercise programme alone. Both treatment concepts achieved significant improvements. However, the manual medicine treatment played an important role in reducing the symmetry score value for the affected children, such they were no longer in need of treatment.