Wearing the helmet and torticollis

[Guest guest]

Hello! I am new to this group and I have read several articles on the internet

that have me concerned. My daughter is 4.5 months old. She has had torticollis

since birth and started PT at 3 months. The deformaties has made her ears

uneven and has it appears to be making one of her eyes look smaller. We have

been referred to the helmet clinic but the first available appointment is not

for 2 more months. Does the helmet help with these? Also does it affect growth

of the brain?

Traci

[Guest guest]

Sounds like you may have been blown off long enough already. By

" helmet clinic " do you perchance mean craniofacial clinic (more

doctors), or do you mean the allied medical professionals who make

cranial remolding orthoses? If the former, you are correct to be

uncomfortable with the delay: it is well established that nothing

correlates better with favorable outcome than earliness of

treatment. 6.5 months will be outside the 4-6 months which is

thought to be ideal (some say earlier), and it could take another

month and a half to get a helmet on her head once she has a

prescription. If you KNOW you're going to get a helmet at 6.5

months, then it's certainly not a big deal.

But, any suggestion of a possibility that helmets could adversely

affect the brain is a GIANT RED FLAG over your pediatrician. Those

of us who have been deceived by pediatricians often advise: just get

a new one, or a family doctor, who will write the prescription; but I

wonder if anyone so warned has actually done so. You can also get

anthropometric measurements from an orthosis provider beforehand,

which even an ignorant doctor can compare to the standard of care

expected by your insurance. Do not be antagonized by someone who is

supposed to serve you.

Thad Launderville

town, VT

Clara age 2, STARband '10

On Nov 12, 2010, at 10:51 PM, tracihillestad wrote:

> We have been referred to the helmet clinic but the first available

> appointment is not for 2 more months. [....] Also does it affect

> growth of the brain?

[Guest guest]

Traci - It's good that you're getting your daughter checked for plagiocephaly.

As Thad said, you don't want to delay more than necessary. Where do you live? Is

there a helmet provider in your area who can see your daughter sooner for an

evaluation? If you're in the USA, check these websites for locations to try:

www.cranialtech.com - free evaluation without prescription

http://www.hanger.com/locations/Pages/LocationByState.aspx - call locations to

see if they make orthotic helmets and if they do evaluations without a

prescription

http://www.orthomerica.com/products/cranial/starband.htm - call locations to see

if they do evaluations without a prescription

Also, you should know that many children have plagiocephaly and torticollis

together, but it is possible for torticollis to cause eye and ear asymmetry

without a plagiocephalic head shape. If this is the case, resolving the

torticollis will help improve the asymmetry. My son had some success with a TOT

collar (google it). On the other hand, if your daughter does have plagiocephaly

in addition to torticollis, a helmet will should reduce her asymmetry, but

results will be limited if the torticollis is still present. Make sure to be

very aggressive with her stretching schedule in either case. Best of luck!

>

> Hello! I am new to this group and I have read several articles on the internet

that have me concerned. My daughter is 4.5 months old. She has had torticollis

since birth and started PT at 3 months. The deformaties has made her ears

uneven and has it appears to be making one of her eyes look smaller. We have

been referred to the helmet clinic but the first available appointment is not

for 2 more months. Does the helmet help with these? Also does it affect growth

of the brain?

>

> Traci

>