Massage for Infantile Colic: Review and Literature

Background Infantile colic is a painful phase in the first months of infancy but no safe and effective conventional treatment exists. Massage is used in traditional medicine as a control and treatment method for infantile colic. The aim of this study is to evaluate the efficacy and safety of massage in the control and treatment of infantile colic. Materials and Methods We searched international database such as PubMed, EMBASE, Cochrane library, and Iranian databases such as SID, Magiran, Iranmedex using a searching strategy with key words "Infantile colic", "Massage", "Complementary of Alternative Medicine" during 2000 to 2015. Analysis of data extraction and quality evaluation of the literature were performed independently by two investigators. Results Most articles provides the strongest evidence for benefits of massage in stress, anxiety reduction, pain control, cancer, skin disease, weight gain, sleep, promote growth, development in premature infants, neuromuscular and gastrointestinal disease such as infantile colic. The infantile colic massage helps relax the gastrointestinal tract and good digestion.   Conclusion Our findings demonstrated that pediatric massage therapy is effective in the treatment of infantile colic.  Compared to other possible treatments for colic, massage is a safe and enjoyable procedure; the risk of serious adverse effects is low. The pediatrician should feel comfortable discussing massage therapy with patients and be able to refer patients to a qualified massage therapist as appropriate.