Osteopathy regulates markers of the autonomic nervous system in preterm infants

The efficacy of osteopathic manipulative treatment (OMT) in preterm infants has already been demonstrated. However, the immediate effects of OMT on heart rate variability (HRV) have not yet been investigated. An altered HRV reflects the poor or deteriorating clinical condition and neurological development of the neonate. If OMT could improve HRV, this would be an indication for a relevant intervention to improve the care of preterm infants. This is precisely what was investigated in the study by Manzotti et al. 2022. The primary outcome of the study was the change in beat-to-beat heart rate variance, measured by the root mean square of successive RR interval differences (RMSSD); other metrics were used as secondary and exploratory analyses. Ninety-six preterm infants (41 male) were recruited from the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at Buzzi Hospital in Milan. These were randomly assigned to one of two treatment groups: OMT or Static Touch. The infants were born at 33.5 weeks (+/-4.3 weeks) and had a mean birth weight of 2067 g (+/-929 g). The current study showed no significant change in RMSSD in preterm infants due to osteopathic touch. However, the other analyses showed that OMT was associated with an increased index of the parasympathetic nervous system and a decrease in sympathetic nervous system metrics. These results suggest that a single osteopathic intervention could promote autonomic effects in the preterm period, but it is necessary to conduct more precise studies with larger sample sizes. Manzotti A, Cerritelli F, Lombardi E, Monzani E, Savioli L, Esteves JE, Galli M, La Rocca S, Biasi P, Chiera M, Lista G. Osteopathic Manipulative Treatment Regulates Autonomic Markers in Preterm Infants: A Randomized Clinical Trial. Healthcare. 2022; 10(5):813. https://doi.org/10.3390/healthcare10050813