Clinical efficacy of magnetotherapy combined with pediatric massage on infantile colic
Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 20, 2025
Author Spotlight: Exploring the Potential of Massage Therapy in Cerebral Palsy Using Animal Models
Published on: August 11, 2023
1Department of Pediatrics, The First Affiliated Hospital of Gannan Medical University Ganzhou 341000, Jiangxi, China.
Insights
Magnetotherapy and pediatric massage effectively treat infantile colic, reducing crying and pain while improving sleep. The combination therapy showed the best short-term results for crying relief and sleep duration.
Area of Science:
- Neonatal care
- Complementary and alternative medicine
Background:
- Infantile colic affects a significant number of neonates, causing distress to infants and families.
- Conventional nursing care is standard, but additional effective treatments are sought.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the short-term and long-term effectiveness of magnetotherapy and pediatric massage for infantile colic.
- To compare the efficacy of combination therapy versus individual therapies and conventional care.
Main Methods:
- A retrospective study of 120 neonates diagnosed with colic.
- Participants were divided into four groups: combination therapy, magnetotherapy alone, pediatric massage alone, and a control group receiving conventional nursing.
- Data on crying, bloating, breast refusal, pain levels, and sleep duration were collected.
Main Results:
- The combination therapy group showed significantly better short-term efficacy compared to the control group.
- While not statistically significant, the combination group experienced the shortest crying relief time and longest sleep duration.
- Pain levels decreased significantly in the combination group from day 2 to day 7 compared to the control group.
Conclusions:
- Magnetotherapy combined with pediatric massage is beneficial for managing neonatal colic.
- This combination therapy effectively alleviates crying and pain symptoms in neonates.
- Improved sleep quality is a notable outcome of the combined treatment approach.
Objective:
To investigate the short-term and long-term efficacy of magnetotherapy and pediatric massage in the treatment of infantile colic.
Methods:
A total of 120 neonates with sudden onset crying, bloating, and breast refusal who met the diagnostic criteria for colic were retrospectively enrolled from September 2019 to September 2021. They were divided into a combination group, a magnetotherapy group, a pediatric massage group, and a control group based on different treatment methods (n=30 in each group). All cases were provided with conventional nursing.
Results:
The short-term efficacy of the combination group was significantly better than that of the control group. The difference was not statistically significant among combination, magnetotherapy, and pediatric massage groups (P>0.05). In the long-term efficacy assessment, the total effective rate was 96.67% in the combination group, 93.33% in the magnetotherapy group, 86.67% in the pediatric massage group, and 93.33% in the control group. There was no significant difference among the groups (P>0.05). Neonates in the combination group had the shortest crying relief time and the longest sleep duration after relief. This was followed by the magnetotherapy and the pediatric massage groups (P<0.05). Neonates in the control group had longer crying relief time and shorter sleep duration after relief than those in the combination group (P<0.05). From day 2 to day 7 of intervention, the pain level of the combination group was decreased significantly. This was significantly lower than that of the control group (P<0.05).
Conclusion:
Magnetotherapy combined with pediatric massage can improve neonatal colic, relieve crying and pain symptoms, and improve sleep quality.
