Effects of Massage Therapy on the Development of Babies Born with Down Syndrome

OBJECTIVE: To determine the short-term effects of infant massage on the development of Down syndrome babies. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The study compared two groups (intervention and control), each with 16 babies with Down syndrome between 4 and 8 months old. The variables developmental age and developmental quotient were measured at two distinct time points, at pretest and after 5 weeks, using the Brunet-Lézine Early Childhood Psychomotor Development revised scale. This scale measures the variables of age and development quotient in a partial way (motor, visual-motor coordination, language, and social development) and in a global way. The experimental group received infant massage, applied by the parents, during these 5 weeks, every day for at least 10 minutes. The massage protocol was based on the methodology created by Vimala McClure. The control group received it after 5 weeks. RESULTS: All developmental variables were improved in the experimental group but not in the control group. There were significant differences in developmental age between the two groups, and this outcome was better in the experimental group (p < 0.001). The 2-by-2 mixed-model analysis of variance indicates a statistically significant group-by-time interaction for all development quotients, both partial and global (p < 0.001), which was significantly higher in the experimental group than in the control group. CONCLUSION: Infant massage therapy improves the development of babies with Down syndrome in the short term.