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CompletedNCT02595515Updated Aug 28, 2019

The Effect of Chiropractic Treatment of Infantile Colic

An interventional study of Chiropractic treatment and Visit without active treatment in Infantile Colic, sponsored by Nordic Institute of Chiropractic and Clinical Biomechanics. Completed at 1 site in Denmark. Open to participants aged 2 Weeks to 14 Weeks. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2019-08-28.

Sponsored by Nordic Institute of Chiropractic and Clinical Biomechanics · Not applicable, Interventional, and Treatment

Phase
Not applicable
Study type
Interventional
Enrollment
186
Allocation
Randomized
Ages
2 Weeks to 14 Weeks
Sex
All
01

Study summary

Infantile colic is condition that affects more than 10% of babies and their families. The reason, and hence proper treatment, for this condition is unknown and many causes have been suggested. One of the treatments that parents choose is chiropractic manipulation. In Denmark, almost 10,000 babies are each year treated by chiropractors, and a high proportion is due to colic. However, the effect of chiropractic treatment of infantile colic has not been properly scientifically evaluated.

The effects of chiropractic treatment on infantile colic needs to be investigated, since this is a very common disorder with no known effective treatment, but with good empirical evidence of the value of chiropractic treatment. Although it is usually considered to be a benign and self-limiting condition, some studies suggest there might be long-term effects in terms of psychomotor problems. In worst case, the infants' crying may also lead to violence and 'shaken baby syndrome'.

Null hypothesis: There is no effect of chiropractic treatment on the course of infantile colic.

This study is a controlled, clinical trial where infants fulfilling the diagnostic criteria for colic will be randomized into two groups. One group will receive treatment and the other won't. This will determine the overall effect and furthermore, subgroup analyses will be performed to identify possible subgroups of infants, who will benefit the most from the treatment.

Read the detailed description

OBJECTIVES:

Primary: To investigate the effect of chiropractic treatment on infantile colic

Secondary: to investigate if infants with suspected musculoskeletal problems respond differently to the treatment than those without.

METHOD:

A randomized controlled single blind multicenter clinical trial

The project is to be carried out on the island of Funen, Denmark. Recruitment of babies with symptoms of infantile colic is based on contact by the parents of the babies to the project manager. Information about the existence of the study is given to health visitors, general practitioners, midwifes and to women who have given birth on the maternity ward in the University Hospital of Odense. For infants fulfilling the diagnostic criteria for colic the parents will register amount of crying using a valid instrument for at least three days before the first visit at the chiropractor Clinic (baseline registration). The babies will be randomized to chiropractic treatment or no treatment. The parents will be unaware of the child's allocation. All children have four visits during two weeks at the chiropractor. All children will be taken to the chiropractor's treatment room, while the parents stay in the reception areas. Before treatment, the chiropractors will note, whether they suspect musculoskeletal involvement or not. The parents register the amount of crying continuously during the two weeks and up to and including three days after the fourth visit. Three days after the the fourth visit, the parents are informed by the chiropractor about the child's allocation. Children in the control group will afterwards have the opportunity to have four free visits with chiropractic treatment.

The parents will be asked to give consent that the medical journal regarding pregnancy and birth is reviewed in order to obtain information on specific measures (e.g. duration of pregnancy, duration of labor, delivery presentation, vacuum extractor delivery or caesarean section). Subgroup analyses will be performed to investigate associations with symptoms of colic and suspected musculoskeletal involvement. All analyses will be adjusted for known confounders, registered by the project manager at baseline.

PERSPECTIVE FOR HEALTHCARE:

First of all, the study will evaluate the effect of chiropractic treatment of infantile colic. Secondly, it will clarify if the treatment effect differs between children with suspected musculoskeletal involvement and those without.

02

Conditions studied

  • Infantile Colic

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03

In context

Colic

148 studies on the registry are indexed under Colic; 21 are open to participants now.

This study's enrollment of 186 is above the median of 88 across 122 interventional studies indexed under Colic.

Browse Colic studies →

Lead sponsor

Nordic Institute of Chiropractic and Clinical Biomechanics is the lead sponsor of 4 studies on the registry; none are open to participants now.

Counted across the registry records on this site, refreshed daily.

04

Who can participate

Ages eligible
2 Weeks to 14 Weeks
Sexes eligible
All
Accepts healthy volunteers
No

Inclusion criteria

  • Age: 2-14 weeks.
  • Minimum crying and fussing: three hours per day, three days per week
  • Satisfying weight gain

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Known disease
  • Symptoms than can indicate other condition than infantile colic
  • Contraindications for chiropractic treatment
  • Previous chiropractic treatment due to infantile colic
05

Study design

Phase
Not applicable
Primary purpose
Treatment
Allocation
Randomized
Intervention model
Parallel assignment
Masking
Triple (Participant, Investigator, Outcomes assessor)
Enrollment
186 participants (actual)

Study arms

  • Experimental
    Chiropractic treatment

    Manipulation and/or mobilisation. Intervention: Procedure: Chiropractic treatment.

    Other: Chiropractic treatment

  • Placebo comparator
    Visit without active treatment

    The child is brought in for chiropractic treatment, but no active treatment is delivered. The parents are unaware whether the treatment is delivered or not.

    Other: Visit without active treatment

Interventions

  • OtherChiropractic treatment

    Procedure: chiropractic treatment.

    Also known as: Manipulation, mobilisation

  • OtherVisit without active treatment

    Procedure: Visit without active treatment. The child is brought in for chiropractic treatment, but no active treatment is delivered. The parents are unaware whether the treatment is delivered or not.

06

What researchers measure

Primary outcomes

  1. Change in hours of crying

    Change in number of crying hours per day based on parental diaries (before and after treatment) when comparing treated and not treated children

    Time frame: Two weeks

Secondary outcomes

  1. Change in hours of crying for children with suspected musculo-skeletal problems

    Subgroup analysis for the children with suspected musculo-skeletal problems including change in number of crying hours per day based on parental diaries (before and after treatment) when comparing treated and not treated children

    Time frame: Two weeks

07

Study locations

1 site
  • University of Southern Denmark
    Odense, 5230, Denmark
08

References and documents

Publications

  • Holm LV, Vach W, Jarbol DE, Christensen HW, Sondergaard J, Hestbaek L. Identifying potential treatment effect modifiers of the effectiveness of chiropractic care to infants with colic through prespecified secondary analyses of a randomised controlled trial. Chiropr Man Therap. 2021 Apr 19;29(1):16. doi: 10.1186/s12998-021-00373-6. PubMed 33874964 ↗
  • Holm LV, Jarbol DE, Christensen HW, Sondergaard J, Hestbaek L. The effect of chiropractic care on infantile colic: results from a single-blind randomised controlled trial. Chiropr Man Therap. 2021 Apr 19;29(1):15. doi: 10.1186/s12998-021-00371-8. PubMed 33874955 ↗
  • Holm LV, Jarbol DE, Christensen HW, Sondergaard J, Hestbaek L. The effect of chiropractic treatment on infantile colic: study protocol for a single-blind randomized controlled trial. Chiropr Man Therap. 2018 Jun 7;26:17. doi: 10.1186/s12998-018-0188-9. eCollection 2018. PubMed 29930798 ↗
09

Updates

Tracking since Sep 25, 2026
No changes since tracking began. The registry record was last updated on Aug 28, 2019, before this site started recording changes on Sep 25, 2026. Its history is on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗
10

Registry details

Key details

Study ID
NCT02595515
Lead sponsor
Nordic Institute of Chiropractic and Clinical Biomechanics
Collaborators
Research Unit of General Practice, Odense
Responsible party
Sponsor
First posted
Nov 3, 2015
Start date
Nov 2015
Primary completion
Jun 2019
Completion
Jun 2019
Last update
Aug 28, 2019

Study contacts

Lise V Holm, MD, PhD
principal investigator · Research Unit of General Practice, Odense, University of Southern Denmark, JB Wilsløwsvej 9A, 5000 Odense C, Denmark
Lise Hestbæk, Assoc Prof
study director · Nordic Institute of Chiropractic and Clinical Biomechanics. Campusvej 55, 5250 Odense M, DK, Denmark

Oversight

Data monitoring committee
No
View the source record on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

Not currently enrolling

This study is completed, as verified in Aug 2019. You cannot join it, but the record below documents what was studied.

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