International Chiropractic Pediatric Association (ICPA) - Colic - Colic Research

International Chiropractic Pediatric Association (ICPA) - Colic

327 N Middletown Road
Media, PA 19063
(610) 565-2360

For more information, please email info@icpa4kids.com.

Colic is defined as excessive, inconsolable crying of the infant. The management may range from parental attempts for baby positioning, stomach massage, maternal dietary changes for the breast fed baby, formula changes, chiropractic spinal and meningeal care, homeopathic remedies, herbal teas and allopathic drugs.

Peer Reviewed Journals:

Differential compliance instrument in the treatment of infantile colic: a report of two cases. Leach RA. J Manipulative Physiol Ther. 2002 (Jan);25 (1): 58-62
A PulStar Function Recording and Analysis System (PulStar FRAS, Sense Technology, Inc, Pittsburgh, Penn) device was used to administer light impulses (approximately 1.7 joules, which produced a 3 to 4 lb force) at each segmental level throughout the dorsal spine, with probe tips spaced 2 cm apart straddling the spinous processes. Crying was reduced by 50% after a single session of instrumental adjusting in a 6-week old girl and after 4 sessions in a 9-week old boy, according to colic diaries kept by the mothers. Average hours of uninterrupted daily sleep increased from 3.5 to 6.5 hours after a single session. Within 10 days (5 and 8 sessions, respectively), colicky behavior disappeared and average total daily sleep improved to 14.5 hours (an average increase of 4.5 hours). Results continued over a 30-day follow-up.

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 J Manipulative Physiol Ther. 1999 (Oct);22 (8): 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 for 2 weeks. Changes in daily hours of crying were recorded in a colic diary.
From the abstract: By trial days 4 to 7, hours of crying were reduced by 1 hour in the dimethicone groups compared with 2.4 hours in the manipulation group (P = 04). On days 8 through 11, crying was reduced by 1 hour for the dimethicone group, whereas crying in the manipulation group