Potential of Massage Therapy for Improved Growth and Development Among Infants Under 9 Months: A Systematic Scoping Review of Intervention Type, Technique, and Outcome

Background: Infants are in a critical period during which often occur many problems, such as growth, development, and motor delays. One of the interventions that can potentially reduce these problems is by giving a massage therapy. Purpose: This study aims to conduct a systematic scoping review of massage therapy's potential for growth and development among infants under nine months. Methods: This study followed a Preferred Reporting Item for Systematic Review and Meta-analysis (PRISMA-ScR). We collected data from three databases, including PubMed, Scopus, and CINAHL with full text, published in 2013-2022, subjects aged less than nine months, full-text articles, and randomized controlled trials. Studies were excluded if they were not in English. Results: Of the 11 studies found, it shows that therapy massage can effectively increase infants' growth and development, including body weight, length, visual-motor coordination and integration, hand-eye, hearing, speech, social, vagal activity, language, locomotion, stationary, and reflexes. The interventions include medium chain triglyceride oil massage, Dabur Lal Tail massage, oil massage, massage by mothers, and massage therapy without additives for 5-45 minutes. In addition, massage therapy has a positive effect on infants with various conditions, including preterm infants, infants with HIV-infected mothers, and infants with Down's syndrome. Conclusion: Our findings highlight that infants receiving massage therapy were significantly more likely to increase growth and development than the population who were not given massage therapy. However, further investigation into preventing the severity of growth and developmental problems is urgently needed.