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Updated: Feb 22, 2026
Assessment of the Efficacy of An Osteopathic Treatment in Infants with Biomechanical Impairments to Suckling
Published on: February 5, 2019
A randomized controlled study on the efficiency of soft tissue mobilization in babies with congenital muscular
Backround:
Soft tissue mobilization techniques (STM) are used in clinical practice in treatment of congenital muscular torticollis(CMT).However, little is known about its effectiveness.
Objectives:
To investigate whether using STM to manage CMT in babies with mild to moderate head tilt was effective or not.
Methods:
Twenty-nine babies with CMT aged between 0-6 months, who had a head tilt from 5 to 20 degrees were allocated to two groups. Both groups received a baseline home program (positioning, handling strategies, stretching and strengthening exercises, environmental adaptations). The study group (SG) also received STM three times a week. Babies were evaluated initially, at six weeks, at 12 weeks and for follow-up at 18 weeks with muscle function scale, head tilt and range of motion for neck lateral flexion and rotation.
Results:
Both groups showed significant improvements in all measured parameters (p< 0.05). In comparison of groups, there were differences at six weeks in favor of the SG for neck rotation (0.001) and head tilt (= 0.006); but at 12 weeks and follow up, there were no longer any differences between the groups in any of the measured parameters.
Conclusions:
STM techniques are effective in getting faster positive results in the treatment of CMT.
