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OPT-IN: Osteopathic Plagiocephaly Treatment for Infants and Neonates

OPT-IN: Osteopathic Plagiocephaly Treatment for Infants and Neonates

Status
Recruiting
Phases
NA
Study type
Interventional
Source
ClinicalTrials.gov
Registry ID
NCT05848895
Acronym
OPT-IN
Enrollment
122
Registered
2023-05-08
Start date
2023-10-26
Completion date
2025-12-31
Last updated
2025-08-03

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

Cranium; Deformity, Plagiocephaly, Plagiocephaly, Nonsynostotic, Plagiocephaly, Positional

Keywords

Positional Plagiocephaly, Nonsynostotic Plagiocephaly, Repositioning, Osteopathic Manipulative Treatment, Cranial asymetry

Brief summary

The goal of this crossover randomized clinical trial is to assess the effects of osteopathic manipulative treatment (OMT) compared to standard of care repositioning in children diagnosed with positional/deformational plagiocephaly. The main hypothesis is that children who received OMT will show significantly improved anthropometric measures of cranial symmetry over those receiving the current pediatric standard of care of repositioning. This is a two-arm, randomized cross-over clinical trial. With parental consent, pediatric patients (infants \<4 months of age) will be organized into one of two groups: 1. Those who receive OMT with emphasis on osteopathic cranial manipulative medicine (OCMM) to restore cranial symmetry. 2. Those who receive standard care only with repositioning attention from the parents After 8-weeks of being in the first group, each participant will cross-over into the second group (OMT or repositioning) N = 122 subjects diagnosed with deformational plagiocephaly (DP) are to be recruited (to allow for natural attrition and loss to follow up) with the recruitment to continue until 61 patients have been placed in each of the two groups and will cross-over to the respective treatment group (OMT and standard of care repositioning therapy). Timeline: It is projected that to recruit and carry out the assessments and interventions (8-weeks of each group with 12-months of follow-up longitudinally), it will require two years (24-months) from the beginning of the study to completion.

Interventions

PROCEDUREOsteopathic Manipulative Treatment

Osteopathic Manipulative Treatment is a manual treatment therapy applied by licensed physicians that consists of using ones hands to improve the structure and function of the body. In this situation it will involve gentle and passive modalities that are well-tolerated by infants.

BEHAVIORALStandard of Care Repositioning

Parents will receive standardized handouts/materials instructing on repositioning intended to help improve head shape in infants with plagiocephaly.

Sponsors

Osteopathy's Promise to Children
Lead SponsorOTHER

Study design

Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
CROSSOVER
Primary purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
SINGLE (Outcomes Assessor)

Eligibility

Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
1 Days to 4 Months
Healthy volunteers
No

Inclusion criteria

Inclusions: * Diagnosed with positional plagiocephaly * Under 4-months of age (between birth - 4 months) at the time of enrollment Exclusions: * Preterm birth (\<37 weeks) * Genetic syndromes * Craniofacial defects/deformities (e.g. cleft lip/palate) * Brachycephaly/scaphocephaly * Hypotonia * Hypertonia * Craniosynostosis * Head trauma or other neurological illnesses * Lost to follow up * Patient whose parents (or legal guardians) disagree to attend 8-treatments of OMT and 2 additional measurement sessions * Prior helmet therapy, physical therapy, or OMT before the date of enrollment

Design outcomes

Primary

MeasureTime frameDescription
Cranial Vault Asymmetry Index2 yearsAnthropometric measurement of cranial asymmetry
Head circumference2 yearsStandard growth parameter measured in infants
Weight2 yearsStandard growth parameter measured in infants

Secondary

MeasureTime frameDescription
Medical history12 monthsPatients charts will be reviewed after first year of life to assess for medical issues including otitis media, developmental delay, allergic rhinitis, vision problems, torticollis, hospitalizations, need for a helmet to treat plagiocephaly, colic, reflux/GER, etc.
Developmental Milestones12 monthsPatients' enrolled in the study will have developmental stones monitored as per general pediatrician's protocol to screen for developmental delays.

Countries

United States

Contacts

Primary ContactKimberly J Wolf, DO
kimberly.wolf@the-promise.org619-583-7611
Backup ContactJessica Martone, PhD, MSW
jessica.martone@the-promise.org619-693-6303

Outcome results

None listed

Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · Data processed: Feb 4, 2026