Re: Re: Does positional therapy work? When to get a helmet.

[Guest guest]

We didn't have a hip pop, but we had shoulder & arm popping.  Elaine had the worst case of tort her primary care doctors had ever seen, and one of the worst the specialists had.  She needed sergical intervention to help her relax her neck.  Her entire upper body on the right was a knotted up mess.  On the worse days she wouldn't even relax her arm.  Her therapist worked the typical neck stretching and strengthening exercises, but also did a lot with her arms, shoulders and trunk on the whole.  We've also been told to keep a look out for scoliosis because of how contorted she was for so long, so we can treat early if it arises.  At this point it still doesn't seem to be an issue, but we'll be doing all the free checks as they come around for sure.

I would guess you wouldn't be wrong in assuming the two are related.  I'd also say aggressive PT should fix it too.  Definatly something that should be addressed with a therapist anyway.If you don't have a lot of confidence in your PT, see a different one.  Your current PT could be great, but PT really is a joint effort with

all the at home work that needs to be done.  If you aren't

communicating all that well, try someone new.  We took Elaine to a PT rehabilitation center that was part of our hospital.  We mainly saw one woman that was great.  There were times she wasn't available so we saw a different PT on staff.  Seeing a different therapist from time to time was invaluable for me even though we really liked the primary one.  They had different methods of targeting the same muscles, different ways of explaining things, and different ideas for things we could do at home.  I believe because we worked with different people we were better able to help our daughter. 

As for PT measuring for plagio, could be spot on, could not.  We were referred to a crainofacial plastic surgeon and she measured with just calipers as did our ortho.  A lot of the places you go to get bands use scanning technology that can be more accurate (like CT).  The thing that can be hard to remember is that it isn't about the numbers as much as it is about the look and shape.  There is always some room for error in measurements~

Elaine (twin A), plagio & tort, grad 6/09 after two bandsOn Mon, Jan 25, 2010 at 12:02 PM, dunkingdiva <smilety2009@...> wrote:

 

Thanks for the info and advice. We will wait for his four month well child (in two weeks) to decide about seeing an ortho. He also has a pop in his hip and might need to see an ortho for that as well (we had an ultrasound that showed everthing is fine, but it still pops when he kicks. Does anyone have experience with this? I've been told that hip problems are associated with plagio where torticollis is a factor.). I don't know how other pt's measure for plagio, but the way ours does seems to leave alot of room for human error. I don't have a lot of confidence in the pt.

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> > I'm looking for advice from those of you with experience. Our story starts

> > at our sons 2 month well child visit. His doctor noticed a flat spot on the

> > back right side of his head and referred us to pediatric physical therapy.

> > There we learned there was an 8 mm difference in measurments, and that he

> > has torticollis. We were taught stretches and positional therapy. Three

> > weeks later we went back to the physical therapist and found that his

> > measurment had improved 1 mm. This was disappointing. The PT said he would

> > have liked to see more improvement and made a couple of suggestions. He is

> > now almost four months old, and we will be meeting with his PT and doctor

> > soon. I'm wondering if others on this board have had positive experiences

> > with positional therapy (any tips or advice would be welcomed) Also, do any

> > of you have advice to share about if and when to get a helmet. What kind of

> > measurements usually require a helmet? Is it better to get it at 4 months,

> > or should be wait until 6 months? I feel lost in a new world. HELP!

> >

> >

> >

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[Guest guest]

The thing that can be hard to remember is that it isn't about the numbers as much as it is about the look and shape. There is always some room for error in measurements~To add to what said above. The measurements only give a two dimensional picture of the head. Our son's asymmetry is down to 4.8 (down from 13) and his head does look good but when you look at the whole 3 dimensions you can see there are definite areas that are flat and some bumps that stick out. The measurements only tell part of the story.Diane11 month son in STARband since Oct. Sent from my iPhoneOn Jan 25, 2010, at 10:51 AM, Lina Gabriev <lina.gabriev@...> wrote:The thing that can be hard to remember is that it isn't about the numbers as much as it is about the look and shape. There is always some room for error in measurements~

[Guest guest]

That is absolutely wonderful. A true success story without a helmet. Repositioning does work with some babies and it sounds like you've done it right. 4 mm is considered to be on the border of normal so as long as you can keep it there or even get more improvement, there is definately no need for a helmet.

Re: Does positional therapy work? When to get a helmet.I just wanted to thank everyone who responded to this post. I really just needed some encouragement and hope. We have seen the PT and Pediatrician and have recieved great news. Torticollis is corrected, and plagio down to 4 from 8 (in 7 weeks of repositioning)! I actually had to remind the pedi what side the plagio was on. Thanks again! I really really appreciate it! >> I'm looking for advice from those of you with experience. Our story starts at our sons 2 month well child visit. His doctor noticed a flat spot on the back right side of his head and referred us to pediatric physical therapy. There we learned there was an 8 mm difference in measurments, and that he has torticollis. We were taught stretches and positional therapy. Three weeks later we went back to the physical therapist and found that his measurment had improved 1 mm. This was disappointing. The PT said he would have liked to see more improvement and made a couple of suggestions. He is now almost four months old, and we will be meeting with his PT and doctor soon. I'm wondering if others on this board have had positive experiences with positional therapy (any tips or advice would be welcomed) Also, do any of you have advice to share about if and when to get a helmet. What kind of measurements usually require a helmet? Is it better to get it at 4 months, or should be wait until 6 months? I feel lost in a new world. HELP!>