See Full Version

Max's severe plagiocephaly journey

Max's results before and after helmet therapy

#plagiocephaly

Max's severe plagiocephaly journey

BY Daisy

03 March 2025

When Sophie noticed her baby Max had a persistent flat spot on his head, she was told it would resolve naturally—but it didn’t. Seeking a second opinion led her to the London Orthotic Consultancy, where Max was diagnosed with severe plagiocephaly.

At birth Max had a normal looking head shape. At about three months, his mother Sophie noticed that his head looked flat on the right hand side. She recalls: ”Max always did have a preference for sleeping on the right side of his head and indeed always seemed to prefer looking to his right, it was just his thing.” Max’s symptoms were a classic presentation of positional plagiocephaly or ‘flat-head syndrome’ as it is often called. Until about one year of age, the bones of a baby’s head are very thin and flexible, which makes its head soft and easy to mould. Max’s right-sided preference meant that he spent more time inadvertently putting pressure on one part of his skull. Over the following months, Sophie asked her GP, Health Visitor and nurse at her GP surgery, about Max’s flat head. The response each time was the same: “It will resolve itself as Max grows”. But it didn’t. Sophie was galvanised into seeking a second opinion by her sister. They were on a family holiday in Cornwall and Sophie’s sister said: "You know I’m afraid Max’s head shape is really bad and it's not getting any better”. She even started searching for a solution and found LOC’s clinic in Kingston. Sophie phoned LOC while she was still on holiday in Cornwall and arranged a face-to-face appointment for their return from holiday. The appointment was made with Jo Drake, LOC’s clinical lead for plagiocephaly.

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.     At Max’s assessment, Jo confirmed that he had severe right-sided plagiocephaly. Max’s cranial vault asymmetry was 16mm; this measurement compares the right and left diagonals at 30 degrees from the centre of the head (front to back) and subtracting one from the other gives the asymmetry value. Anything over 12mm is considered to be severe. Commenting on that appointment Sophie said: “Jo was reassuring, while not over promising about what improvements could be made to Max’s head shape. Having now read up on the subject. I was only too aware that we were late into going into treatment(Max was over 10 months of age when his head was scanned)." The optimal age for starting treatment is considered to be 4-5 months. Cranial remoulding therapy (as it is called) works by applying gentle and constant pressure over the areas of a baby’s skull that are most prominent while allowing unrestricted growth over the flattened areas, so it is best to start treatment when a baby’s head is growing quickly and before growth stops at around the 18 month mark. Max had no problems with his ‘helmet’. Indeed, as Sophie observed: “It probably saved him from any number of bumps and bruises on his head as he rushed about!” By the time of discharge Max’s asymmetry had improved to 9mm, in the moderate range. Sophie commented: “We knew it was unlikely that it would be possible to get his head back into what is termed the ‘normal’ range, Jo had been quite clear about that from the very beginning, but you can see from the scans how much better his head looks. I’m also very pleased that his facial features/eyes are now much more symmetrical. I must add that Jo was great throughout the process, she clearly has a vast amount of experience in treating this condition and is a thorough professional.” Max's asymmetry went from 16mm at the start of treatment to 9mm at his discharge appointment. 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 a clinician, contact us. *Patient and mother’s names have been changed as they preferred to share their testimony anonymously.

Related Articles

Ada’s brachycephaly improves with helmet therapy Barney's plagiocephaly journey Bonnie's Plagiocephaly Treatment Amelia’s Flat Head Syndrome Success

BOOK APPOINTMENT