A Comparison of the Efficacy of Traditional Methods of Infantile Colic Relief Alongside Manuel Treatment: A Literature Rewiew

Introduction to Review 

The following assessment is based on a detailed literature review which synthesises findings from different published researches. The essay is divided into three different sections; introduction, main review and conclusion along with the summary table of the published articles used for explaining the review. The essay is mainly related to the infantile colic and the prevalence of manual therapies which can be used to improvising the quality of life for both parents and infants. According to Skjeie et al., (2013), the infantile colic is regarded as a distressing condition which is characterised by excessive crying in the first few months of birth. It is also known as the self-limiting condition which occurs in infants and is a common disturbance; however, the exact aetiology is still undiscovered. Moreover, it is associated with the malicious cycle of infant crying. 

To prevent this, the mothers use different methods for relieving the infants from this condition, however, there has been limited evidence regarding the support of complementary and alternative treatments usage or behavioural intentions. There are several approaches to deal with this disorder, including probiotics as the conventional one and manual therapy as the most recommended option, which may include chiropractic, massage, and osteopathy (Sheidaei, 2016). As per the research conducted by Steel (2011), osteopathy is a medical care system that is being practised by people in several countries across the globe. The fundamental objective of this technique is to conduct osteopathic manual practices into the medical interventions suggested by the consultants.

Statement of Research Question

The research question which is designed for this assessment is as,

How the efficacy of traditional methods of infantile colic relief can be compared with manual treatment?

Brief Summary of Scholarly Context

The infantile colic is regarded as a common condition which is defined as the colicky crying of the infants. The crying mainly starts from the first few weeks of being born and then it spontaneously resolves within two to five months. In addition, excessive crying is explained as crying which lasts for more than 3 hours daily or more than 3 days every week. It has been attributed to the study conducted by Gutiérrez-Castrellón et al., (2017), that infantile colic can be diagnosed with intestinal contractions, the presence of gas in the gut, lactose intolerance and misinterpretation of normal crying of the paternal. However, in recent times, it has been hypothesised as the medical or the behavioural cause. In addition, the medical hypothesis has also included food hypersensitivity or allergies which can cause severe problems for the infants. In this regard, most parents seek advice from the doctors or look for counter remedies. The study of Posadzki, Lee and Ernst (2013), has reflected that manual therapies are likely to be more effective than the traditional methods such as massage, osteopathy and chiropractic. 

Justification of Chosen Topic

The following topic has been selected because there are certain gaps in already conducted studies. After all, those studies do not provide a definite conclusion as to how manual therapies can be more effective than the traditional methods.  This can also be evidenced by the study of Bronfort et al., (2010), which highlights that despite the diverse strategies and therapies used globally for curing infantile colic, the efficacy of each intervention is still questionable and subject to dispute. In European countries, there has been various treatment including spinal manipulation, and simethicone which are found to be effective for reduction in infantile crying. However, a conflicting opinion regarding the efficacy of such treatments exists. Considering the lack of proven facts and evidence, the effective treatment for infantile colic, traditional methods and manual therapies have come into the spotlight. A study suggests that herbal supplements are effective for the reduction of stomach aches in infants, whereas, the study also suggests that acupuncture helps in the effective treatment of infantile colic and reduces their pain. In light of this discussion, this study has been carried out which has reviewed different articles on infantile colic therapies along with the cases so that it can be assessed whether traditional or manual therapies are effective. 

Main Review

Evaluation of the Articles

The study of Hayden (2009) entitled “: A preliminary assessment of the impact of cranial osteopathy for the relief of infantile colic” was based on the findings comprises of 28 infants that were suffering from colic and thus, few of them were provided with osteopathic manipulation. To determine the significance of the treatment, parents were engaged to observe their children based on their time spent crying, and sleeping. Upon examining the results, it was found that children's time of crying was significantly reduced in the fourth week in comparison to what was recorded in the first week. Further, significant improvement in the time spent sleeping was also observed. Additionally, it was also found that the infants that were provided osteopathic treatment also required less parental attention in comparison with the other group. Conclusively, it has been summarised by the researcher that osteopathic treatment provides benefits in the treatment of colic.

The study of Sheidaei (2016) was concerned with determining the effectiveness of massage therapy in infantile colic symptoms. The study discusses that infantile colic raises issues like cry-fuss, and sleep problems that eventually affects mental health problem besides its adverse effects on the child's physical and mental growth. In this regard, the researcher intended to determine the efficacy of massage therapy in comparison with rocking to reduce infantile colic symptoms such as cries, sleep and severity of infant colic. The findings of this study were based on 100 infants who were younger than 12 years. The infants were randomly assigned to the groups that were the massage group and the rocking group. The infants were provided massage day and night for 15-20 mint. On the other hand, mothers were also asked to rock infants gently for 5-25 minutes. The study found that the efficiency of massage therapy was considerably higher than that of rocking. The study suggested that massaging significantly improves colic symptoms provided with the one-week intervention. Additionally, the researcher also found a significant difference between intervention and control groups however, the favour was provided to massaging. In this aspect, the researcher has suggested that massaging therapy is more effective in comparison with rocking in the context of treating colic symptoms among infants. 

The study of Castejón-Castejón (2019) was inclined toward determining the effectiveness of craniosacral therapy (CST) to facilitate the treatment of infantile colic. The study’s findings were based on the observations collected for 58 infants who were diagnosed with infantile colic. The observations from infants were collected four times a day. Additionally, the findings were supported by the colic severity measure which is the infant colic severity questionnaire. The study found a statistical difference between the two groups from the perspectives of crying hours, sleep hours, and colic severity. The study encases the findings by suggesting craniosacral therapy is found as a more effective and safe option for infantile colic because of its significance in reducing the number of crying hours, and colic severity and in increasing total hours of sleep. 

The study of Miller, Newell and Bolton (2012) was concerned with determining the efficacy of chiropractic manual therapy provided to infants possessing unexplained crying behaviour. The study was also concerned with determining whether this manual therapy is linked to parental reporting bias. The infants were randomised into 3 groups such as infant treated, parent aware and neither infant treated nor parent aware.  Based on one hundred and four patients suggests that chiropractic manual therapy improves crying behaviour among infants with colic. The findings of the study suggest that knowledge of treatment possessed by parents does not influence the effectiveness of the treatment.  

The study of Salvatore (2016) is devoted to exploring pharmacological interventions for early functional gastrointestinal disorders. The study discusses that functional gastrointestinal disorders are chronic gastrointestinal symptoms that are without structural or biochemical abnormalities. In further highlighting the need for curing functional gastrointestinal disorders, the researcher suggests that FGID are multifactorial conditions that also exists with different pathophysiologic mechanism namely motility, brain-gut disturbance along with environmental and psychological factors.  The findings of the study were based on secondary research where it has been found that pharmacological intervention is essential for rectal disimpaction in childhood constipation. However, the study did not find any use of pharmacological therapy for the treatment of this particular disease. 

Another article presented by Holm (2018) has focused on the effects of chiropractic treatment for infantile colic. The study has used protocol for the single-blind RCT to reflect the findings related to the selected treatment method. The present study discusses infantile colic which is known as a common condition found in early childhood that can influence newborns. The cause of colic can sometimes be unknown, however, the hypothesis has been evidenced in different treatment that is effective for infantile colic. The study also suggests that chiropractic is mainly utilized for the treatment of infantile colic; however, the evidence for its effectiveness is sparse. This study undertook a single-blind randomized control trial and invited families having children aged 2-14 weeks with extreme crying. The intervention has also been proposed in this study which assesses the influence of treatment on the clinician and finds indicated it as a standard treatment. In addition to the above statement, the study also does not undertake manual treatment as all the children attended a chiropractor clinic two times and after their fourth visit, the children’s burps, colic and bowel movements were examined. A positive result was identified from the chiropractic treatment as the children were not frequently crying because of infantile colic. 

Discussion on Significance of Findings

From the findings retrieved on the critical review and evaluation of the articles, it was identified that the principle of osteopathic manual practices encodes that the practitioner should keep a thin mind while treating a patient, whether a paediatric or pregnant or any other category that their whole body is a single unit, and whatever the treatment is suggested, it should not become the reason for stagnation. Similarly, chiropractic manual therapy is used in the research conducted by Miller (2012), to cure the conditions of repetitive crying and other discomforts of babies like the infantile colic. However, the research conducted by Hayden (2009) presents a controlled and open study over a selected sample group, patients which include 28 infants who are diagnosed with colic (Steel, 2017). 

Along these lines, the study introduced by Sheidaei (2016) lead to a model of training in which newborn children with colic are exposed to treatment with their foreboding through back rub treatment or massages in different areas. It is seen that children who get massaged all the time had improved in their well-being more quickly. Additionally, according to the comprehension of the study directed by Castejón (2019), minors who were treated with Chiropractic manual treatment had improved their well-being. Moreover, the infantile colic or the disorder of infant colic is a condition wherein a child cries with scenes for the day, however, more normally during the nights. Although the outcomes are not serious, yet the guardians and parents are accounted to encounter uneasiness, stress and sorrow because of the steady crying of their babies (Castejón, 2019). Doctors have recommended various conventional methodologies using which the child can get loose in their long wheezing pain, however, a few elective clinical intercessions, along with the manual procedures are seen to be increasingly productive in managing the circumstance. According to the study by Miller, Newell and Bolton (2012), it has been identified that the RCT design helped in the evaluation of the effectiveness of chiropractic treatment for the infantile colic. Moreover, the study contributed to the determination of the influence of this treatment on the colic within the area, where limited evidence exists. Furthermore, the study explored whether the subgroups of the children are suspected of the problems which can benefit from the intervention and help in achieving better results.