Torticollis and plagiocephaly treatment - craniopath, osteopath or chiropractor??

[A1983]

Ds is 3 months old and I have bought him a mimos pillow (any reviews?)

Anyway which treatment pathway do I need to go down AND is this on the NHS (?!) as he definitely has a head tilt and right sided preference with a slight - medium slope on back of head which I'm trying to correct with repositioning, mimos pillow and bany wearing/tummy time .

Any advice would be great.
Thank you

 

[DebbieF]

All I did with my son was reposition his head and lots of tummy time. Things corrected themselves with no medical intervention.

 

[_Meep_]

Mine never had plagio, but she did tend to look to the left almost exclusively when she was very tiny. We took her to a cranial osteopath when she was about 3 months or so, because she kept going on nursing strike, and it was discovered that she had a really stiff neck and a twist in her spine due to her birth. She got stuck at almost full dilation because she was facing the wrong way. Her head was bent back and her body got corkscrewed by contractions. The osteopath said that because of this, her body preferred to be banana-shaped, with her back arched and head tilted backwards - and at that moment I realised that that was EXACTLY the position she slept in, on her side, in a curve. After that realisation, I had full faith in the technique, and she found it so relaxing that she fell into a deep sleep while she was being treated.

The breastfeeding didn't improve (turned out it was down to a different issue), but she stopped lying like a banana and definitely had more range of motion in her neck. It only took three treatments.

I think all babies should visit a cranial osteopath after birth, no matter how easy it was. The forces exerted on your body during the birthing process can actually stay with you for life!

It's a fantastic place to start as it is nothing more than gentle touch - if it doesn't help then there are other options to try. The flat spot should correct itself as he spends less time on his back, but it's important that his neck is treated for his comfort, and a cranial osteopath should be able to do this.

I believe the NHS would only treat the most severe plagiocephaly cases. Our sessions with the osteo were about £30 each I think.

 

[A1983]

Thank you ladies, and meep that's very interesting thank you - and not a bad price!! I shall enquire on Monday. Apologies for my frequent posts recently! This lo is keeping me on my toes!

 

[_Meep_]

Know the feeling - I completely panic about EVERYTHING. The flat spot that your LO has WILL go away though, I'm sure. So what if he has a mildly odd shape going on for a while.

 

[A1983]

I hope so....my teacher friends say they notice those children with flat heads/plagiocephaly so it can be permanent but there are so many variables involved ie severity etc. Debbie how long did it take to correct itself for your son?

 

[DebbieF]

I hope so....my teacher friends say they notice those children with flat heads/plagiocephaly so it can be permanent but there are so many variables involved ie severity etc. Debbie how long did it take to correct itself for your son?

I think about 2-3 months of constant repositioning and tummy time. He still has a small flat spot, but it is MUCH less noticeable than it was. The doctor who first talked to us about it went as far as suggesting he may need a helmet eventually. At his next appointment the doctor (a different one) said he was fine and the helmet talk was ridiculous.

 

[jodilee6]

My eldest had a significant flat head as he would only sleep flat on his back looking at the ceiling, I'd move him and he'd instantly go back!

I saw an improvement around 6 months and now at 3 you'd never even know. I'll see if I can find some pics for you

 

[jodilee6]

Here's one when he was about 10 months

 

[jodilee6]

And here's one at 3

Having more hair helps but his head has also rounded out naturally, we didn't do anything

(Sorry for multiple posts!)

 

[A1983]

Wow Jodie that's amazing! Is that just from time? Or did you try any interventions?

 

[jodilee6]

Just time, he eventually started sleeping on his front and was just off his head as he became more mobile

He has a very slight flat spot but you wouldn't know it was there unless you looked for it

 

[mac1979]

My son had severe torticollis and plagiocephaly, we did 4 months of physical therapy to correct it, as our pediatrician recommended it. We did stretches for his neck at ever diaper change. With PT and some massive growth spurts he never needed a helmet for his head shape.

 

[fxmummyduck]

My lo had a really bad flat head from sleeping on his back and never moving. It's a lot better now, but I think it's still improving which is good. I wish I'd known about gentle treatments, osteos etc, I think he would have really benefited from it. Looking back on it I think he may well have had stiffness in his neck, he got a bit stuck at birth with his hand up by his head!

 

[fxmummyduck]

This is his head now!! It's rounding out slowly!

 

[A1983]

Wow that's brilliant mummyduck!

 

[Mississippi03]

My guy has this issue too.. I did take him to chiro to get adjusted once
But my family dr actually suggested stretches.. Lets see if i can try to explain this..
Lie your little of their back and you sit over top of them on your knees, put one hand on each side if their head above the ears and align there head to be center and looking up at you.. I usually lie my arms down his shoulders and beside his abdomen because he does start flopping when he doesnt like it so this holds him in place.. Then gently, but with a tad of force because they wont like it, tilt their head the opposite way of their preference... So if they are leaning right, tilt to the left. What you want yo do is tilt so their ear is to their shoulder and hold it for 30 seconds... Again they wont like it but it's important to hold for 30 seconds... Do this three times a day

You should see improvement in a week, i saw it after three days.. But I'm to continue this for a month.

Now that his neck is loosened, hes ok with me repositioning his head during sleep, and actually does it himself... And his range of motion has improved significantly. Wgich both will help to reduce flat head.

 

[A1983]

Thank you so much miss and that's perfectly described! Luckily my husband is a physiotherapist but not with peads but his colleague taught him this and he only had to do it twice and now DS looks and sleeps both ways freely! He still has a flat head to one side and we're still using the mimos pillow but maybe we just need more time, only been 6 weeks since starting these methods. Let me know if you notice less flattening/more rounding out of your lo's head

 

[wookie130]

My son, who is now 16 months old, had right torticollis, and mild plagio on that side. I live in the U.S., and usually, it is treated here with a combination of at-home PT (physical therapy) exercise to increase range of motion in the neck, and repositioning (keeping the child entirely off the flattened spot on the head). We began therapy at 8 weeks of age, and he was done at about 4 months old, but we were diligent, and did his stretches no less than 4-6 times a day, and we kept him off the flat spot at all times, mostly with the use of a Tortle beanie (Google it - it's a very helpful tool), and rolled receiving blankets. Once he hit about 5 months, he began tummy-sleeping on his own, and he ended up naturally sleeping on the other side anyway, which helped. He never needed helmet therapy, and if you are very diligent about therapy and repositioning, baby's head will round out on it's own with time. Now that he's a toddler, our son's head still has a slight slope, but it's so subtle that you'd really have to be looking for it to notice it. Different haircuts can help the appearance of flatness, also!

 

[Mississippi03]

Thank you so much miss and that's perfectly described! Luckily my husband is a physiotherapist but not with peads but his colleague taught him this and he only had to do it twice and now DS looks and sleeps both ways freely! He still has a flat head to one side and we're still using the mimos pillow but maybe we just need more time, only been 6 weeks since starting these methods. Let me know if you notice less flattening/more rounding out of your lo's head

Keep at it daily.. I usually only remember once a day, im bad! But hes improved range a lot..
He only has a mild small flat spot.. Nothing my dr is worried about.. It was more the range of motion she was worried about.. But since starting this he flips back and forth between sides of his head overnight on his own