• Williams-Frey S
• Miller JE

• Colic / diet therapy
• Colic / therapy
• Infant Care
• Open Access Document
• Pediatric Chiropractic
• Probiotics / therapeutic use

Aim: To determine whether research evidence supports probiotic supplementation together with spinal manipulative therapy as a viable combination to significantly decrease infant colic.

Method: Review and report findings of scientific papers that support the effectiveness of treatments with probiotics and spinal manipulative therapy for infant colic.

Result: Considerable research suggests that probiotic supplementation could improve metabolites such as short chain fatty acids that have been shown helpful in regulation of a stress response. Both probiotics and manual therapy appear to improve functionality of the vagus nerve and parasympathetic nervous system to balance the autonomic nervous system, which could result in reduction in crying time for infants. Each treatment, individually has shown some benefits for infant colic in randomized controlled trials. Both remedies are considered safe.

Conclusion: Research suggests there may be sufficient background to justify randomized trials utilizing a combination of probiotic supplementation and manual therapy for the treatment of infant colic. Since both treatments are considered safe and benefits have been shown, it may be appropriate for individual clinicians, faced with a colicky infant, to suggest to the parents a short clinical trial combining these two therapies.

Author keywords: infant colic, probiotics, manual therapy, autonomic nervous system.

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