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Updated: Jul 3, 2026

Assessment of the Efficacy of An Osteopathic Treatment in Infants with Biomechanical Impairments to Suckling
07:11

Assessment of the Efficacy of An Osteopathic Treatment in Infants with Biomechanical Impairments to Suckling

Published on: February 5, 2019

Osteopathy may decrease obstructive apnea in infants: a pilot study

Yvan Vandenplas1, Etienne Denayer, Thierry Vandenbossche

  • 1Department of Pediatrics, Universitair Ziekenhuis Brussel Kinderen, Brussels, Belgium. yvan.vandenplas@uzbrussel.be.

Osteopathic Medicine and Primary Care
|July 22, 2008
PubMed

Insights

Osteopathy treatment may reduce obstructive sleep apnea in infants. While the osteopathy group showed a significant decrease in apneas, the difference between groups was not statistically significant, warranting further research.

Area of Science:

  • Pediatric Sleep Medicine
  • Osteopathic Manipulative Treatment
  • Respiratory Physiology

Background:

  • Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) involves breathing cessation due to physical airway blockage during sleep.
  • Infant OSA poses risks, necessitating investigation into effective, non-invasive interventions.
  • Understanding factors influencing infant breathing patterns during sleep is crucial for early detection and management.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To evaluate the efficacy of osteopathic manipulative treatment (OMT) in reducing obstructive apnea events in infants.
  • To compare the impact of OMT versus non-specific treatment on infant obstructive apnea incidence.
  • To assess changes in polysomnographic measures of obstructive apnea following OMT.

Main Methods:

  • A randomized controlled trial involving 34 healthy infants aged 1.5-4.0 months.
  • Intervention group (n=15) received two osteopathic treatments over two weeks; control group (n=13) received non-specific treatments.
  • Polysomnography was used to measure obstructive apnea counts before and after the two-week treatment period.

Main Results:

  • The osteopathy group demonstrated a statistically significant reduction in obstructive apneas (p=0.01).
  • The control group exhibited a trend towards a physiological decrease in obstructive apneas.
  • The difference in apnea reduction between the osteopathy and control groups was not statistically significant (p=0.43).

Conclusions:

  • Osteopathy may positively influence obstructive apnea incidence in infants with a history of such events.
  • Polysomnography confirmed a reduction in apneas within the osteopathy cohort.
  • Further research is recommended to validate these findings and explore the long-term effects of osteopathy on infant sleep-disordered breathing.
Abstract

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