Osteopathic manipulative treatment of congenital talipes equinovarus: a case report.

BACKGROUND

Treatment recommendations for congenital talipes equinovarus are focused on conservative treatments.

OBJECTIVES

The aim of this paper is to present a case report of bilateral congenital talipes equinovarus treated with two short-leg serial casting in combination with osteopathic manipulative treatment.

METHODS

A newborn, 12 days old, with severe bilateral congenital talipes equinovarus entered to the Department of Orthopedics at the University of Chieti, Italy. The pediatric orthopedic surgeon applied two single series of short-leg casts, at 12 and 20 days of age. The osteopath scheduled 4 indirect myofascial release techniques sessions.

RESULTS

At day 33 the newborn achieved a complete correction of the congenital talipes equinovarus deformity and there was no need to apply a third series of casts.

CONCLUSIONS

Results from this single case study create an interesting and clear precedent for considering OMT in future clinical trials.