title: Impact of massage therapy on motor outcomes in very low-birthweight infants: randomized controlled pilot study.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The purpose of the present study was to determine the effects of massage therapy on motor development, weight gain, and hospital discharge in preterm very low-birthweight (VLBW) newborns.
  
  
  METHODS
  Twenty-four preterm VLBW newborns (<34 weeks and <1500 g) were enrolled in this randomized controlled pilot study. The intervention group (n = 12) received massage therapy starting at 34 weeks post-conceptional age (15 min daily, 5 days/week for 4 weeks). The infants in the sham treatment group (n = 12) received similar duration of light still touch. Test of Infant Motor Performance (TIMP) score gain, weight gain, and post-conceptional age at discharge were compared between the two groups after intervention using Mann-Whitney U-test.
  
  
  RESULTS
  No significant between-group difference in TIMP score gain and weight gain was identified when all subjects were analyzed. In subgroup analysis, among those with below-average pre-treatment TIMP score (<35), the intervention group (n = 6) achieved significantly higher TIMP score gain (P = 0.043) and earlier hospital discharge (P = 0.045) than the sham treatment group (n = 5). These same infants, however, also had significantly shorter duration of total parenteral nutrition than their counterparts in the sham treatment group (P = 0.044).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Massage therapy might be a viable intervention to promote motor outcomes in a subgroup of VLBW newborns with poor motor performance. A larger randomized controlled trial is required to further explore the effects of massage therapy in this high-risk group.
authors.affiliation: Physiotherapy Department, Princess Margaret Hospital, Hong Kong.
authors.forename: Yuen-Bing
authors.initials: YB
authors.lastname: Ho
authors.forename: Robert S Y
authors.initials: RS
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Chun-Bong
authors.initials: CB
authors.lastname: Chow
authors.forename: Marco Y C
authors.initials: MY
authors.lastname: Pang
mesh_terms: D002657:Child Development / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D007224:Infant Care / Q000379:methods; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D019102:Infant, Very Low Birth Weight; D007363:Intensive Care Units, Neonatal; D008297:Male; D008405:Massage / Q000379:methods*; D009048:Motor Skills / Q000502:physiology*; D026201:Musculoskeletal Manipulations / Q000379:methods; D010865:Pilot Projects; D012016:Reference Values; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric; D013647:Task Performance and Analysis; D013997:Time Factors; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D015430:Weight Gain