When 9-month-old Shayla Ramey was first referred to the Pediatric Rehab Center at Mercy Memorial Hospital in Urbana, Ohio, the playful infant was facing a range of physical challenges.

Therapists noticed right away that her muscle tone was weak and her shoulders pitched back instead of forward, making it difficult for her to move. Too much movement even made the infant vomit. But after just three months in the new infant massage program at the Urbana hospital, Shayla’s development has almost caught up to most other girls her age.

For Brandi Arnold, Shayla’s mother, the new program not only helped her daughter physically, it helped her learn new ways to teach and interact with her baby.

“She’s my first, and I didn’t know what to look for,” Arnold says.

The program began this year when Jonathan Tedena, a physical therapist at Mercy Memorial, came up with the idea as a way to become certified in infant massage while helping local families at the same time. As Shayla laid on her back on a plastic green mat, Tedena demonstrated a few of the massage techniques on a plastic doll. Arnold mimicked the moves on Shayla, gently rubbing the infant’s legs up toward her heart in what was described as the Swedish Milking technique. The technique is used to encourage blood flow to the heart, and is thought also to improve lymphatic drainage.

Along with the apparent physical benefits of the massage, the program also provides time for parents to connect with their children.

“I really think the power of touch is just a really wonderful thing,” says Susan Rizza, an occupational therapist who is also working with Shayla.

The massage session generally lasts about 20 minutes, but Tedena said they take frequent breaks whenever Shayla doesn’t seem to be in the mood. Although the sessions are held once a week, Arnold continues to massage her daughter at home daily.

Massage is also incorporated into the girl’s overall therapy program, he says. On Monday, July 6, Tedena and Rizza were working to encourage Shayla to stand by placing toys on a small plastic platform just out of her reach. Shayla finally stood and reached for the toys just as the session was ending.

Eventually, Rizza says, she’s hoping the massage program grows. While most of those involved in massage classes are two years and older, Rizza says she hopes that parents of infants and premature babies discover the purported benefits of massage as well.

“If we incorporate touch right from the very beginning, we’re ahead of the game,” Rizza says.

After the progress she’s seen in Shayla, Arnold said she plans to continue with the massage for as long as she can.

Just a couple months ago, Shayla rarely moved. Last week, she spent much of the session crawling and climbing all over her mother.

“I can’t get her to sit still for nothing now,” Arnold says.

Source:  Matt Sanctis/Springfield News Sun, Springfield, Ohio