Colic Research
The short-term effect of spinal manipulation in the treatment of infantile colic: a randomized controlled clinical trial with a blinded observer, Wiberg JMM, Nordsteen J, Nilsson N. Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics. October 1999; Vol. 22, No. 8, pp. 517-522.
This is a randomized controlled trial that took place in a private chiropractic practice and the National Health Service’s health visitor nurses in a suburb of Copenhagen, Denmark.
One group of infants received spinal care for 2 weeks, the other was treated with the drug Dimethicone T for 2 weeks. Changes in daily hours of crying were recorded in a colic diary.
Hours of crying reduced by 1 hour in the Dimethicone group compared with 2.4 hours in the chiropractic group by day 4-7. On days 8 through 11, crying was reduced by 1 hour for the Dimethicone group, compared with 2.7 hours in the chiropractic group.
In the 12 days of the study, the children under chiropractic care had a 67% reduction in crying while the group treated with drugs had a 38% reduction in crying. The mean number of adjustments given during the two-week study was 3.8.
A six week old baby with colic. International Chiropractic Pediatric Association Newsletter. May/June 1997.
A six week baby with colic who could not sleep for more than one hour at a time and could not hold food down was brought in for chiropractic check up.
A subluxation at C1 was corrected. After the first adjustment the infant fell asleep before leaving the office and slept for 8 hours straight. The baby gained two pounds in one week.
The child was seen three times per week for two months, thereafter once a week. The colic symptoms never returned.
Chiropractic management of an infant experiencing breastfeeding difficulties and colic: a case study. Sheader, WE, Journal of Clinical Chiropractic Pediatrics, Vol. 4, No. 1, 1999.
This is the case of a 15-day old emaciated male infant experiencing inability to breastfeed and colic since birth.
When he entered the chiropractor’s office, he was crying constantly, “shaking, screaming, rash, and vomiting during and after feeding”. The baby also had “increased distress” 30 minutes after feeding and had excessive abdominal and bowel gas since birth. The mother reported the infant was given a Hepatitis B vaccination within hours after birth. The pediatrician prescribed formula but baby reacted poorly to it.
During the examination the infant continuously cried, with high-pitched screams, and full-body shaking. Child had a distended abdomen with excessive bowel gas.
After the first adjustment (to C1) a significant reduction of crying, screaming and shaking occurred. On the second visit, two days later the mother commented, “This is a completely different baby”. The vomiting before and after feeding had ceased. Another adjustment was given. By the third visit, a “significant decrease of symptoms” was reported and complete remission of abdominal findings. Baby had been successfully breastfeeding since last visit. No adjustment was needed.
The baby had been symptom free for 5 days and received a second Hepatitis B vaccination. All symptoms returned to a severe degree, plus a low grade fever. Adjustment was given but there was no reduction of symptoms. The patient was adjusted three more times over the next week with minimal reduction in symptoms. By the eighth visit, eight days after receiving the vaccination, the child began to show marked improvement and by the 11th visit, no symptoms were noticed and no adjustment was given. Seventeen days after vaccination there was a return of all symptoms; by the 13th visit “the infant did not exhibit any significant recurring symptoms.
Colic with projectile vomiting: a case study. Van Loon, Meghan. J of Clinical Chiropractic Pediatrics. Vol. 3 No. 1 1998. 207-210.
This is the case of a three-month-old male medically diagnosed with colic and projectile vomiting increasing in severity over the previous two months despite medical intervention.
Care consisted of chiropractic spinal adjustments and craniosacral therapy with the resolution of all presenting symptoms within a 2-week treatment period. Proposed cranial and spinal etiologies are discussed as well as the connection between birth trauma and non-spinal symptoms.
Chiropractic care of infantile colic: a case study. Killinger LZ and Azad A. J of Clinical Chiropractic Pediatrics. Vol. 3 No. 1 1998. Pp. 203-206
This is the study of an 11-month-old boy with severe, complicated, late onset infantile colic. He was unable to consume solid foods for a period of four months, and suffered from severe constipation, muscular weakness and lack of coordination. The baby was unable to crawl, stand or walk and was greatly unresponsive to his surroundings.
[The child had been under medical care at the Rochester Medical Clinic, with no improvement in his condition.]
Following upper cervical specific chiropractic adjustments for a subluxation of the first cervical vertebrae (atlas), there were immediate improvements in muscle strength, coordination, responsiveness, and ability to consume solid foods without vomiting.
Chiropractic management of an infant patient experiencing colic and difficulty breastfeeding: a case report. Cuhel JM, Powell M, Journal of Clinical Chiropractic Pediatrics 1997 2(2) 150-154.
A 12-day-old male with difficulty in feeding on the right breast, “fussy” and producing excess bowel gas was brought to the chiropractor.
Subluxations were found at the occiput and atlas. The infant showed visible signs of distress on palpation of the right cervical soft tissue structures.
A chiropractic adjustment was performed to the atlas and the mother was able to breastfeed the infant at the office immediately following the adjustment with no problems nursing on the right breast.
However additional chiropractic adjustments met with limited success. The mother was advised that the injections of Depo-Provera (contraceptive injection) she was receiving may be contributing to the infant’s problem. She did not receive the next injection as scheduled. Adjustments were continued and the infant’s pattern of breastfeeding and bowel function normalized.
Infantile colic treated by chiropractors: a prospective study of 316 cases. Klougart N, Nilsson N and Jacobsen J (1989) Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics, 12:281-288.
Seventy three chiropractors adjusted the spines of 316 infants (median age 5.7 weeks at initial examination) with moderate to severe colic (average 5.2 hours of crying per day).
The mothers used a diary to keep track of the baby’s symptoms, intensity and length of the colicky crying as well as how comfortable the infant seemed. 94% of the children showed a satisfactory response within 14 days of chiropractic care (usually three visits). After four weeks, the improvements were maintained.
One fourth of these infants showed great improvement after the very first chiropractic adjustment. The remaining infants all showed improvement within 14 days.
Note: 51% of the infants had undergone prior unsuccessful treatment, usually drug therapy.