Building an evidence base for osteopathy in the care of infants

The University College of Osteopathy (UCO) and the National Council for Osteopathic Research (NCOR) are pleased to announce a new 'Crying, Unsettled and DisTressed Infants: Effectiveness Study' - the CUTIES trial.

The trial team have secured resources to conduct a randomised controlled trial to assess the effectiveness of osteopathic care for the treatment of distressed, unsettled and excessively crying infants (babies with colic/silent reflux).

Professor Dawn Carnes, Director of NCOR and Professorial Research Fellow at the UCO, will lead the trial which will be funded by NCOR and sponsored by the UCO. The European School of Osteopathy have confirmed their collaboration, and the team has also established links with osteopathic universities in Australia and Switzerland as potential recruiting sites, making this a multi-centred international study. 

Professor Carnes said:

“We are in the early stages of defining the protocols for the trial, registering the trial and seeking ethical approval. We aim to start recruiting infants into the trial later this year. We are looking for osteopaths who may be interested in recruiting infants into the trial and delivering the interventions. We will train volunteer osteopaths in trial procedures and the delivery of the treatment and management package.”

This is an excellent opportunity for osteopaths who have experience of treating infants, who are interested in doing research and providing an evidence base for the profession. 

Please contact Professor Carnes at dawn.carnes@uco.ac.uk for further information, or if you are interested in taking part.