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Massage therapy increased positive effects on preemies
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Daily massage therapy may be linked to weight gain and higher natural killer cell cytotoxicity in premature infants, but more research in larger trials are needed, according to study results published online.
Jocelyn Y. Ang, MD, of the Children’s Hospital of Michigan in Detroit, and colleagues looked at data on 58 stable, preterm infants who received massage therapy five times a week, and they compared that data with 62 infants who served as controls.
Jocelyn Y. Ang
Results of the randomized, placebo-controlled study indicated that natural killer (NK) cytotoxicity was higher and weight gain was greater in the massage group compared with controls. The absolute number of NK cells was not different in either group, however, according to Ang and colleagues.
The researchers noted some study limitations, specifically that their population was derived from a single center.
“In addition, because this was the first such study conducted in premature infants, at the time the study was designed, there was no justification for randomization by mode of delivery so additional randomization based on mode of delivery was not done,” the researchers wrote.
However, the researchers concluded that this study suggests the beneficial effect of massage therapy on premature infants and underscores the need for additional larger studies because infants with bacterial and fungal sepsis, pneumonias, and recurrent infections have been shown to have an associated decrease in NK cell cytotoxicity compared with healthy newborns.
Disclosure: The researchers reported no relevant financial disclosures.
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