Starband versus doc band vs lerman & son helmet

[Guest guest]

Hello everyone! I am hoping someone can help me out and give me any advice or

thoughts about which device works better - the starband, the doc band or the

helmet frm lerman & son. We started to notice the flattening on the back of our

sons head at about 3 months. At his 4 month doctor's appt we asked his doctor

and she told us to try positioning techniques to see if it would get better. At

5 months it still hadn't and the doctor brought up the idea of a helmet but also

said that due to him beginning to sit so much it may just fix on its own. We

continued positioning techniques and hoped she was right in that it would

correct itself. Last week at his 6 month appt she did see that it had gotten a

bit better but not enough to think it would correct itself so she strongly

suggested we go for a helmet evaluation. We went on tuesday and his measurement

was 13mm so they suggested a helmet as well. They use the starband. We were

all set to order and pay for the helmet today when I happen to call our

insurance to see if anytrhing would be covered. To my surprise I found out it

is covered but since the place we went to tuesday is out of network the benefits

would be considerably lower. The insurance rep I spoke with was very kind and

found a few others places that were in our network and therefore would provide a

much higher benefit for. We have an appt for one of the in-network places

friday morning and they use a helmet made by Ferman & Son. It appears to be a

bit thinner and less medical device looking but I wasn't sure what the actual

differences were in terms of how well they each work. When I tried to search

this online I came across cranial tech who uses the doc band. Now I am

extremely confused as to which device works the best and what the pros and cons

are for each. Anyone who has any opinions or thoughts on any of the devices and

would like to share with me - I would be very grateful!! The doc band

testimonials seem to make it sound like the results are faster in that you start

seeing results in only a week or two? I feel so clueless right now yet we want

to make a decision very quickly since he is ocming up on 6 1/2 months. I know

the longer we wait the harder it can be to achieve the results you are hoping

for.

Thank You!!

Wendi

[Guest guest]

Wendi,Before my daughter was banded, I too, was very concerned about which band works the best, so I asked the neurosurgeon treating my daughter and he said that they all pretty much work the same way(hold prominent areas and re-direct growth in the desired regions to correct head shape)and he had no preference over one or the other. I chose a local orthotist over Cranial Tech and the main reason is that I wanted the person making the adjustments to be a board-certified orthotist. I was uncomfortable with RN's and PT's making adjustments at the direction of an orthotist in Arizona. CT also predicted a longer treatment time and two helmets instead of one. My daughter corrected to less than 3mm in 15 weeks and only one helmet. In addition, our orthotist scanned my daughter's head, so that

I could actually see the improvement and the numbers down to .5mm accuracy. STARBAND also uses scanners to track progress. Cranial Tech uses hand measurements and photographs. My daughter began treatment at 8 months and I saw improvement in just one week, so this is not something exclusive to the Doc Band. Lots of people on this board have reported great correction with DocBands, STARBands and locally-made helmets/bands. On the flip side, there's also been some reports of problems with all helmet makers as well. The best advice that I can give you is to research the orthotist's qualifications and experience. Also, ask lots of questions and to see examples of their work. You can also check out the provider's track record by asking physicians and physical therapists whether they feel comfortable referring patients there based on treatment results. This should help make your decision a little easier.Best of luck!-Amy From: wdearsman <wdearsman@...>Plagiocephaly Sent: Thu, July 22, 2010 1:59:19 AMSubject: Starband versus doc band vs lerman & son helmet

Hello everyone! I am hoping someone can help me out and give me any advice or thoughts about which device works better - the starband, the doc band or the helmet frm lerman & son. We started to notice the flattening on the back of our sons head at about 3 months. At his 4 month doctor's appt we asked his doctor and she told us to try positioning techniques to see if it would get better. At 5 months it still hadn't and the doctor brought up the idea of a helmet but also said that due to him beginning to sit so much it may just fix on its own. We continued positioning techniques and hoped she was right in that it would correct itself. Last week at his 6 month appt she did see that it had gotten a bit better but not enough to think it would correct itself so she strongly suggested we go for a helmet evaluation. We went on tuesday and his measurement was 13mm so they suggested a helmet as well. They use the starband. We were all set to

order and pay for the helmet today when I happen to call our insurance to see if anytrhing would be covered. To my surprise I found out it is covered but since the place we went to tuesday is out of network the benefits would be considerably lower. The insurance rep I spoke with was very kind and found a few others places that were in our network and therefore would provide a much higher benefit for. We have an appt for one of the in-network places friday morning and they use a helmet made by Ferman & Son. It appears to be a bit thinner and less medical device looking but I wasn't sure what the actual differences were in terms of how well they each work. When I tried to search this online I came across cranial tech who uses the doc band. Now I am extremely confused as to which device works the best and what the pros and cons are for each. Anyone who has any opinions or thoughts on any of the devices and would like to share with me - I would

be very grateful!! The doc band testimonials seem to make it sound like the results are faster in that you start seeing results in only a week or two? I feel so clueless right now yet we want to make a decision very quickly since he is ocming up on 6 1/2 months. I know the longer we wait the harder it can be to achieve the results you are hoping for.

Thank You!!

Wendi

[Guest guest]

To the weary eyes of this dissatisfied STARband dad, the

HelmetBaby.com site (Lerman and Son) is even less impressive than a

miserable experience with a competitor. I suspect they are aiming to

sell you short on treatment time, with a thinly padded orthosis and a

patently false claim of " almost full correction after six weeks " in

the example before and after image. If this is the best they could

come up with for marketing purposes, what does that say about your

chances?

http://helmetbaby.com/our_treatments.html

FAQ and References links in the left side menu lead to nonsense.

There is no indication of commitment to any treatment strategy, not

even the hackneyed " active " vs. " passive. " Well, I guess /quick/ is

a good idea, in light of Cranial Tech's research finding that early

treatment is the single strongest predictor of good outcome. But the

cuties at the top of the page seem to be wearing tilted and rotating

helmets, which to me says the holding points are very approximately

located, if not totally ineffective. This is to be expected

initially, perhaps, but again: this is the best they could come up

with for a website?

I'm calling the word police on " brachiocephaly " and

" scaphelocephaly " . These encapsulate my overall impression:

" English is our second language. "

Thad Launderville

town, VT

Clara age 2, STARband '10

On Jul 22, 2010, at 1:59 AM, wdearsman wrote:

> Hello everyone! I am hoping someone can help me out and give me any

> advice or thoughts about which device works better - the starband,

> the doc band or the helmet frm lerman & son.

[Guest guest]

Hi Wendi,

I completely agree with Amy's last paragraph - all active bands work the same

way, so it really is key to find a qualified, experienced orthotist. This

generally isn't a concern with Cranial Tech since all technicians are trained in

adjusting DOC Bands and are (presumably) very experienced, but just like

anywhere else, some techs with CT are better than others. What made our

experience with Cranial Tech a really good one was our wonderful technician

(who, unfortunately, is no longer with CT). Cranial Tech does use the DSi to

create a 3D image of the infant's head at the beginning of treatment (and this

image is used to make the band) and a DSi is performed again at the end of

treatment, so you do get 3D digital comparisons to see your child's progress. CT

doesn't even usually do hand measurements to track progress while in the band -

it's all visual (which does require us parents to have a lot of trust in our

techs!)

I'm not familiar with the kind of band used by Lerman & Son, but there is a

difference between active and passive bands, so I would ask them if their helmet

is an active or passive device as well as asking them how much experience they

have treating plagiocephaly, how many babies they band annually, and ask to see

treatment outcome photos.

Good luck,

Sharyn

Lexi DOC Band graduate 02/2010

>

> Wendi,

>

> Before my daughter was banded, I too, was very concerned about which band

works

> the best, so I asked the neurosurgeon treating my daughter and he said that

they

> all pretty much work the same way(hold prominent areas and re-direct growth in

> the desired regions to correct head shape)and he had no preference over one or

> the other.

>

>

> I chose a local orthotist over Cranial Tech and the main reason is that I

wanted

> the person making the adjustments to be a board-certified orthotist. I was

> uncomfortable with RN's and PT's making adjustments at the direction of an

> orthotist in Arizona. CT also predicted a longer treatment time and two

helmets

> instead of one. My daughter corrected to less than 3mm in 15 weeks and only

one

> helmet. In addition, our orthotist scanned my daughter's head, so that I could

> actually see the improvement and the numbers down to .5mm accuracy. STARBAND

> also uses scanners to track progress. Cranial Tech uses hand measurements and

> photographs.

>

>

> My daughter began treatment at 8 months and I saw improvement in just one

week,

> so this is not something exclusive to the Doc Band. Lots of people on this

board

> have reported great correction with DocBands, STARBands and locally-made

> helmets/bands. On the flip side, there's also been some reports of problems

with

> all helmet makers as well. The best advice that I can give you is to research

> the orthotist's qualifications and experience. Also, ask lots of questions and

> to see examples of their work. You can also check out the provider's track

> record by asking physicians and physical therapists whether they feel

> comfortable referring patients there based on treatment results. This should

> help make your decision a little easier.

> Best of luck!

> -Amy

>

>

>

>

>

> ________________________________

> From: wdearsman <wdearsman@...>

> Plagiocephaly

> Sent: Thu, July 22, 2010 1:59:19 AM

> Subject: Starband versus doc band vs lerman & son helmet

>

>

> Hello everyone! I am hoping someone can help me out and give me any advice or

> thoughts about which device works better - the starband, the doc band or the

> helmet frm lerman & son. We started to notice the flattening on the back of

our

> sons head at about 3 months. At his 4 month doctor's appt we asked his doctor

> and she told us to try positioning techniques to see if it would get better.

At

> 5 months it still hadn't and the doctor brought up the idea of a helmet but

also

> said that due to him beginning to sit so much it may just fix on its own. We

> continued positioning techniques and hoped she was right in that it would

> correct itself. Last week at his 6 month appt she did see that it had gotten

a

> bit better but not enough to think it would correct itself so she strongly

> suggested we go for a helmet evaluation. We went on tuesday and his

measurement

> was 13mm so they suggested a helmet as well. They use the starband. We were

> all set to order and pay for the helmet today when I happen to call our

> insurance to see if anytrhing would be covered. To my surprise I found out it

> is covered but since the place we went to tuesday is out of network the

benefits

> would be considerably lower. The insurance rep I spoke with was very kind and

> found a few others places that were in our network and therefore would provide

a

> much higher benefit for. We have an appt for one of the in-network places

> friday morning and they use a helmet made by Ferman & Son. It appears to be a

> bit thinner and less medical device looking but I wasn't sure what the actual

> differences were in terms of how well they each work. When I tried to search

> this online I came across cranial tech who uses the doc band. Now I am

> extremely confused as to which device works the best and what the pros and

cons

> are for each. Anyone who has any opinions or thoughts on any of the devices

and

> would like to share with me - I would be very grateful!! The doc band

> testimonials seem to make it sound like the results are faster in that you

start

> seeing results in only a week or two? I feel so clueless right now yet we want

> to make a decision very quickly since he is ocming up on 6 1/2 months. I know

> the longer we wait the harder it can be to achieve the results you are hoping

> for.

>

> Thank You!!

> Wendi

>