Guest guest Posted June 14, 2008 Report Share Posted June 14, 2008 I have posted Thoma's photos. Based on these photos....does she look like a complicated case to any of you? We have absolutely no frame of reference.... He is receiving PT for his torticollis problem once per week, he has some improvement but still, his head doesn't show any improvement so far.. Thanks. Paola Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted June 14, 2008 Report Share Posted June 14, 2008 Hi Paola, The head shape doesn't necessarily improve from the PT, so if you're seeing progress with his neck (range of motion and tilt) that is good. As for his head it looks pretty typical, but I believe he had plagio (asymmetry) as well as brachy(flat in back). The reason I say brachy is that he has a lot of extra width. The cephalic index measures brachy. It is head length (front to back) divided by width at the widest point (side to side). It should be around 80%. ' head looks almost as wide as it is long. It is common for babies to have both, and it can be corrected with banding. Since you said he doesn't respond to repo I would go ahead and try to band him sooner rather than later since you get more correction in less time (the head is growing fastest now). As for the bands...Cranial Tech (CT) makes the DOCband (www.cranialtech.com), Orthomerica.com makes the starband, and Hanger makes the Hanger cranial band. All are active bands meaning they work by putting gentle pressure on the prominent areas of the head to hold growth, and redirect it to the flat areas. The DOCband is a bit lighter and has thinner foam. Hanger and Star are very similar. CT does only banding and their staff is generally well trained, so they have a great reputation overall. With the other providers they are used by orthotists (orthos) who may do many other types of orthosis besides cranial band, and will have varying levels of expertise. If the ortho is very experienced both star and hanger can work well (comparable to the docband). Unfortunately some people using these products don't have much background with them, so then the results aren't good, and and some cases they can even make the headshape worse (not common, but it has happened). My daughter wore a starband from a very experienced ortho and had very good results. Also CT was 400 miles away from us and not covered by our insurance so in our area (San Francisco) I would recommend our provider over all the travel to CT. But there is a lot of variation, so you need to check out individual providers. -christine sydney 2.5 yrs starband grad > > I have posted Thoma's photos. Based on these photos....does she look like a complicated > case to any of you? We have absolutely no frame of reference.... > He is receiving PT for his torticollis problem once per week, he has some improvement but > still, his head doesn't show any improvement so far.. > Thanks. > > Paola > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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