Objective: Strong evidence is found for European medical management of ‘infantile colic’ by spinal manipulation. This paper identifies and describes this body of evidence. We apply the social research method of document analysis to the European medical literature and report the medical practices regarding the management of infantile colic by manual means including manipulation.

Data Sources: Primary data sources were Medline, accessed via PubMed, and the Index to Chiropractic Literature (ICL). Secondary material was sourced from the private collections of the authors. Acceptability criterion included a report of the medical management of infantile colic.

Data Synthesis: A range of languages were accepted and either translated or interpreted by clinicians known to the authors. Each retrieved paper was then hand-searched to identify additional citations which were also collected. A total of 69 papers met the acceptance criteria. The statements accepted for appraisal were those of methods descriptive of the clinical assessment and management of patients classified by the practitioner as a child with infantile colic.

Results: The medical management of infantile colic by spinal manipulation is well reported in the European medical literature. Triangulation also identified reports of medical management of a range of pediatric non-neuromusculoskeletal conditions. European medical papers report a number of positive outcomes for infantile colic with care broadly considered to be manipulative care. These outcomes parallel those known to be widely reported in the chiropractic literature.

Conclusion: We report strong evidence from the European medical literature related to the management by manipulation of infants with colic.

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