The acute effects of physiotherapy on general movement patterns in preterm infants: A single-blind study

Background: The General Movement Assessment (GMA) is a video analysis method developed by Heinz Prechtl that examines the infant's spontaneous movements. In recent years, although many studies have been performed in preterm infants by applying GMA, few studies have shown the effects of early intervention on GMA. Aims: Current study was planned to determine the acute effects of a single-session early physiotherapy approach on preterm infants' general spontaneous movements, and to reveal the change in Motor Optimality Scale (MOS) score including FMs. Study design: Prospective, single-blind study. Subjects: Current study was carried out with 32 preterm infants at postterm 12-16 weeks. Outcome measures: The infants included in the study were videotaped by a physiotherapist during 10-15 min before the physiotherapy session at postterm 12-16 weeks for GMA. After a single physiotherapy session, the same physiotherapist performed the same video footage second time. A blind evaluator assessed the videos taken before and after session and scored Motor Optimality Scale (MOS). Results and conclusions: There was no statistically significant difference between MOS sub-category and total score of the infants before and after the session (p > 0.05). According to the results of present study, a single session early physiotherapy intervention did not have an acute effect on the spontaneous movements of preterm infants at postterm 12-16 weeks. Future studies are needed to demonstrate the short and long-term effects of early physiotherapy approaches to risky infants.