Osteopathic manipulative treatment of congenital talipes equinovarus: A case report

SummaryBackgroundTreatment recommendations for congenital talipes equinovarus are focused on conservative treatments.ObjectivesThe 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.MethodsA 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.ResultsAt 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.ConclusionsResults from this single case study create an interesting and clear precedent for considering OMT in future clinical trials.