Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 16, 2025
Author Spotlight: Exploring the Potential of Massage Therapy in Cerebral Palsy Using Animal Models
Published on: August 11, 2023
Potential of Massage Therapy for Improved Growth and Development Among Infants Under 9 Months: A Systematic Scoping
Windy Rakhmawati1, Henny Suzana Mediani1, Meita Dhamayanti2
1Department of Pediatric Nursing, Faculty of Nursing, Universitas Padjadjaran, Sumedang, West Java, 45363, Indonesia.
Insights
Infant massage therapy significantly enhances growth and development in infants under nine months. This intervention positively impacts various developmental milestones and can be beneficial for infants with specific health conditions.
Area of Science:
- Pediatrics
- Developmental Psychology
- Evidence-Based Practice
Background:
- Infancy is a critical developmental period with potential for growth, development, and motor delays.
- Massage therapy is a potential intervention to mitigate these infant developmental challenges.
Purpose of the Study:
- To systematically scope review the efficacy of massage therapy for infant growth and development in infants under nine months.
- To synthesize current evidence on the impact of massage on infant physical and cognitive development.
Main Methods:
- Systematic scoping review adhering to Preferred Reporting Item for Systematic Review and Meta-analysis (PRISMA-ScR) guidelines.
- Searched PubMed, Scopus, and CINAHL databases for randomized controlled trials published between 2013-2022.
- Included studies focused on infants under nine months, in English, with full-text availability.
Main Results:
- Eleven studies indicated that massage therapy effectively promotes infant growth and development.
- Positive effects observed in body weight, length, visual-motor coordination, hand-eye coordination, hearing, speech, social skills, and reflexes.
- Massage therapy demonstrated benefits for preterm infants, infants of HIV-infected mothers, and infants with Down's syndrome.
Conclusions:
- Infants receiving massage therapy showed significantly improved growth and development compared to controls.
- Further research is essential to explore preventative strategies for severe growth and developmental issues in infants.
Background:
Infants are in a critical period during which often occur many problems, such as growth, development, and motor delays. One of the interventions that can potentially reduce these problems is by giving a massage therapy.
Purpose:
This study aims to conduct a systematic scoping review of massage therapy's potential for growth and development among infants under nine months.
Methods:
This study followed a Preferred Reporting Item for Systematic Review and Meta-analysis (PRISMA-ScR). We collected data from three databases, including PubMed, Scopus, and CINAHL with full text, published in 2013-2022, subjects aged less than nine months, full-text articles, and randomized controlled trials. Studies were excluded if they were not in English.
Results:
Of the 11 studies found, it shows that therapy massage can effectively increase infants' growth and development, including body weight, length, visual-motor coordination and integration, hand-eye, hearing, speech, social, vagal activity, language, locomotion, stationary, and reflexes. The interventions include medium chain triglyceride oil massage, Dabur Lal Tail massage, oil massage, massage by mothers, and massage therapy without additives for 5-45 minutes. In addition, massage therapy has a positive effect on infants with various conditions, including preterm infants, infants with HIV-infected mothers, and infants with Down's syndrome.
Conclusion:
Our findings highlight that infants receiving massage therapy were significantly more likely to increase growth and development than the population who were not given massage therapy. However, further investigation into preventing the severity of growth and developmental problems is urgently needed.
