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Barney's plagiocephaly journey

#plagiocephaly

Barney's plagiocephaly journey

BY Daisy

07 August 2024

Barney’s mother Ellie, noticed he had a left side turning preference at about six weeks of age, there was a resulting slight flatness on the left-hand side of his head.

  A physiotherapist diagnosed Barney with torticollis and potentially scoliosis as well. At two months old, his head shape had noticeably deteriorated, but a paediatrician reassured Ellie that Barney’s head shape would resolve naturally. With all the other health issues going on, Barney’s head shape seemed less of a priority. At four months, it was confirmed that Barney had postural scoliosis which was determining his preference to sleep to the left. In the meantime, Barney’s head shape was not getting any better; repositioning was not working as the bend in his spine from scoliosis meant he felt more comfortable sleeping to his left. It was actually a NHS physio that suggested cranial remoulding therapy should be considered before Barney became too old for such intervention to be successful; she recommended Ellie to contact LOC. Prior to contacting LOC, Ellie did her ‘homework’ and was reassured by the positive reviews on LOC’s website. Barney was first assessed at LOC in February 2023 by Jo Drake, LOC’s Lead Plagiocephaly clinician. Measuring Barney’s head shape, Jo found that he had an asymmetry value of 27mm, which is very severe.     Barney after completing helmet therapy with the LOCband

FAQs:

How does helmet therapy work?

The LOCband is non-invasive and works by applying gentle, constant pressure over the areas of the baby’s skull that are most prominent while allowing unrestricted growth over the flattened areas. The band consists of a soft foam layer inside a thermoplastic shell. As the baby grows, the band will be adjusted frequently to gently guide the skull into a more symmetrical shape.

What is the best age to start treatment?

The optimum age for treatment is between four and seven months. This is because the skull is most malleable at this age and improvements to head shape tend to take less time and are more dramatic. That is not to say that helmet therapy should be ruled out if the baby is older than seven months. Routinely, babies up to the age of 16 months can be treated very successfully. The cut off age is around 18 months when the fontanelles (soft spots on the head) are no longer malleable. As babies grow and develop at different rates, it is always worth checking if you are not sure. There have been cases where a baby’s fontanelles have not fused yet by the age of 18 months, who have achieved successful, but less-marked results with cranial remoulding therapy.

Does cranial remoulding therapy really work?

Yes - All babies that have completed their course of treatment with us have achieved a measurable improvement in head shape. However, you don’t have to take our word for it.
Recent independent research conducted by a University Hospital in Germany has endorsed the treatment for babies with moderate or severe plagiocephaly. A larger, retrospective study has just been published that found complete correction was achieved in 94.4% of babies treated with helmet therapy. The results were conclusive: repositioning achieved acceptable correction in 77.1% of cases, but 15.8% were moved onto helmet therapy because re-positioning was not working. Meanwhile, 94.4% of the infants who started in the helmet-treated group achieved full correction, as did 96.1% of those who were transferred from the repositioning group into the helmet-treated group. Further information can be found on our Plagiocephaly Research page.

How frequently do we need to attend reviews?

This is very much dependent on how fast your baby is growing. The faster the growth, the more frequently your baby will be seen so that the helmet can be adjusted. In general, reviews will happen at two to four-week intervals.

What does the price of the treatment cover?

The price of treatment covers: all your baby’s required appointments from start to the end of treatment, no matter how many are required to achieve the improvement in head shape that you are happy with; the cost of manufacturing the LOCband and supply of appropriate cleaning fluid for the band; all reports to your GP/paediatrician/ cranial osteopath/physiotherapist, including a final scan report with objective measurements of change achieve; full telephone support from your clinician during treatment, and, if necessary, extra review appointments at short notice.     Ellie recalls: “Jo was massively reassuring that treatment with the LOCband would work, even though Barney was a bit older (8 months) than the norm in starting treatment. I was really impressed by how easy it was to communicate with Jo directly, I never felt on my own and with all the other issues Barney was dealing with Jo was incredibly supportive. The regular reviews were very helpful as far as I am concerned, particularly as I could see his head shape was improving all the time. The end result is amazing, a huge reduction in asymmetry; I would definitely recommend LOC to anybody who finds their baby’s head is misshapen. Lastly, we found we were not alone; when out with Barney, we were stopped by parents who said, ‘Oh, I recognise that helmet. That’s a LOCband. Our child’s head shape was sorted out by one of those years ago!’ On discharge in April of this year, Barney’s asymmetry was measured at 11mm, a reduction of nearly 60%.   Freddie's head scans show an asymmetry value of 27mm before cranial remoulding therapy, and after with a value of 11mm     If you’re worried about your baby’s head shape, get in touch today. You can fill out our free flat head diagnosis form or, to book a free consultation with an orthotist, contact us.    

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