Effects of massage therapy alone or together with passive mobilisations on weight gain and length of hospitalisation in preterm infants: Systematic review and meta-analysis

Abstract

Background: The effect of massage therapy alone or together with passive mobilisations on weight gain and length of hospitalisation in very preterm and moderate-to-late preterm infants remains to be elucidated.

Aim: To compare massage therapy alone or combined with passive mobilisations with a control group in preterm infants.

Study design: A systematic review and meta-analysis according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses statement was conducted. Randomised controlled trials comparing massage therapy alone or combined with passive mobilisations with a control group in preterm infants were included. MEDLINE, EMBASE, ENFISPO, PEDro and Cochrane databases were searched up to March 2022.

Subjects: Preterm infants.

Outcome measures: Weight gain and time of hospitalisation.

Results: Compared to usual care, massage therapy combined with passive mobilisations was demonstrated to be more effective in improving weight gain (standardized mean difference [95%CI] 0.67 [0.31, 1.02]) and reducing length of hospitalisation (0.53 [0.10, 0.97]) outcomes. However, massage therapy alone was not effective in improving weight gain (1.14 [-0.22, 2.49]). No differences in the effectiveness of these therapies between groups according to gestational age were found (p > 0.05).

Conclusions: Based on fair-to-high quality evidence, massage therapy combined with passive mobilisations significantly improves weight gain and reduces length of hospitalisation in premature infants. However, massage therapy alone does not achieve these improvements.

Keywords: Hospital discharge; Massage therapy; Paediatrics; Passive mobilizations; Preterm infants; Weight gain.