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

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.