Trial reportEarly human development2014
Preterm infant weight gain is increased by massage therapy and exercise via different underlying mechanisms.
Trial report in Early human development, 2014. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to 2 registered trials, which are not on this map. Cited by 32 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Supporting and Enhancing NICU Sensory Experiences to Optimize Developmental Outcomes in Preterm Infants
Effect of Tactile-Kinesthetic Stimulation on Growth, Neurobehavior and Development Among Preterm Neonates
Who cites it
32 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 96 citations in OpenAlex.
- Nursing Interventions That Promote Sleep in Preterm Newborns in the Neonatal Intensive Care Units: An Integrative Review.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Pooled it
- Effects of Infant Massage: A Systematic Review.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Pooled it
- First Brazilian recommendation on physiotherapy with sensory motor stimulation in newborns and infants in the intensive care unit.Revista Brasileira de terapia intensivaPooled it
- Chinese pediatric Tuina can prevent premature infant feeding intolerance and is conducive to weight gain: a prospective randomized controlled study.African health sciences · 2023Trial
- Effect of physiotherapy on the promotion of bone mineralization in preterm infants: a randomized controlled trial.Scientific reports · 2022Trial
- Effect of tactile/kinesthetic massage therapy on growth and body composition of preterm infants.European journal of pediatrics · 2021Trial
- [Early rehabilitation intervention reduces the incidence of extrauterine growth retardation in preterm infants].Zhongguo dang dai er ke za zhi = Chinese journal of contemporary pediatrics · 2018Trial
- PREMM: preterm early massage by the mother: protocol of a randomised controlled trial of massage therapy in very preterm infants.BMC pediatrics · 2016Trial
- Effects of infant massage on jaundiced neonates undergoing phototherapy.Italian journal of pediatrics · 2015Trial
- Trial
- The effects of massage therapy to induce sleep in infants born preterm.Pediatric physical therapy : the official publication of the Section on Pediatrics of the American Physical Therapy Association · 2014Trial
- The state of infant massage use in neonatal intensive care units.Journal of perinatology : official journal of the California Perinatal Association · 2026Article
- Maternal physical activity levels in early pregnancy and the risk of spinal deformity among preschoolers at age 4: findings from the Shanghai birth cohort study.Frontiers in pediatrics · 2025Article
- "She mimicked the manipulations on my hand": fostering embodied care among children with recurrent acute respiratory tract infections in Southern China.BMC complementary medicine and therapies · 2024Article
- Review
- Implementation Rate of Physical Rehabilitation in Neonatal Intensive Care Units in Japan: A Retrospective Observational Study.Medicina (Kaunas, Lithuania) · 2024Observational
- Potential of Massage Therapy for Improved Growth and Development Among Infants Under 9 Months: A Systematic Scoping Review of Intervention Type, Technique, and Outcome.Journal of multidisciplinary healthcare · 2024Article
- NICU sensory experiences associated with positive outcomes: an integrative review of evidence from 2015-2020.Journal of perinatology : official journal of the California Perinatal Association · 2023Review
- Effects of massage therapy on preterm infants and their mothers: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.Frontiers in pediatrics · 2023Review
- Effectiveness of Oral Sensory-Motor Stimulation in Premature Infants in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) Systematic Review.Children (Basel, Switzerland) · 2021Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
3 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
objectiveTo compare the effects of massage therapy (moderate pressure stroking) and exercise (flexion and extension of limbs) on preterm infants' weight gain and to explore potential underlying mechanisms for those effects.
methodsWeight gain and parasympathetic nervous system activity were assessed in 30 preterm infants randomly assigned to a massage therapy group or to an exercise group. Infants received 10min of moderate pressure massage or passive flexion and extension of the limbs 3 times per day for 5days, and EKGs were collected during the first session to assess vagal activity.
resultsBoth massage and exercise led to increased weight gain. However, while exercise was associated with increased calorie consumption, massage was related to increased vagal activity.
conclusionTaken together, these findings suggest that massage and exercise lead to increased preterm infant weight gain via different underlying mechanisms.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.