Maybe you ve seen a baby out in the store or mall wearing what seems like an infant sized football helmet.
Baby helmet for torticollis.
Most likely this is a therapeutic device worn to help correct a misshaped head.
Deformation of the head also occurs because infants are kept in car or bouncy seats for long periods of time for convenience or to decrease reflux.
Multiple births and torticollis greatly increase the incidence of plagiocephaly.
A pediatrician may recommend a helmet after evaluating your baby s head shape.
The thing about the helmet is that it is time sensitive.
There is less improvement available as the child ages to a maximum cut off of 14 months for the start of treatment.
I cried a lot.
Once your baby lays their head down for 10 15 seconds they re tired and need a rest.
When torticollis is persistent after the initiation of treatment rubber straps can be fixed to the outside of the helmet and attached to the side rails of the crib.
We were both pretty frustrated with the dr s wishy washy opinion.
I could go on and on about torticollis after the long journey we went through but instead i ll leave you with this.
The perfectly round head of my c section baby had turned into a crooked wonky egg shape with a flat spot.
Flat spots torticollis and helmets oh my.
Torticollis is a condition involving the neck muscles that caused our daughter to primarily look to one side and tilt her head.
Our tri state and philadelphia orthopedists can fit custom baby helmets as a safe solution for correcting this deformity.
I would kiss brandon s head and cry.
Baby helmet therapy requires active growth to bring about correction and 4 to 7 months is the ideal age to start treatment.
What is the first step to get a helmet.
The sooner a baby gets it on the more effective and quickly it will work 4 6 months being the optimal age.
Trying to decide whether to give your baby plagiocephaly treatment with or without a helmet is by no means an easy task.
Conflicting attitudes and opinions from gps hvs the press private clinics and other parents can often serve to heighten the anxiety no matter how honourable the intentions behind their advice might be.
While the infant sleeps the straps can be tightened to stretch the shortened sternocleidomastoid muscle.
Stretching exercises to treat torticollis are most likely to work well if they start when a baby is between 2 to 6 months of age.
You did the right thing by keeping your baby on their back and wearing the helmet means you re an even better mom for caring enough to make sure your child has the brightest possible future.
