Osteopathic manipulative treatment of congenital talipes equinovarus: A case report

Summary 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.