I worked with a boy with plagiocephaly who wore a cranial helmet. I
treated him regularly from about age 9 months to 15 months. He had
been wearing a cranial helment for 23 hours a day for several weeks
prior to my meeting him. I would consider his case moderate to severe
compared to other children I have seen with plagiocephaly. He was a
twin, mom had a very flat pelvis and his head molded to that shape.
He was birthed vaginally.
I found the temporal bone to be overlapping the occipital bone
bilaterally, with more severity on the right side. His craniosacral
rhythm had little quality and amplitude. The occipiomastoid sutures,
sphenobasilar synchondrosis, and jugular foramena were compressed.
Once his cranial base released, his rhythm instantly appeared
beautifully strong and smooth throughout his cranium with some minor
asymmetry. His severe reflux drastically improved. He also took a
lovely developmental leap in regards to gross motor skills and speech.
He would get his cranial helmet adjusted every few weeks. When the
helmet was tight, his rhythm would become a bit stifled in the
occipital bone but remained strong in the parietals. I noticed that
the helmet would trigger his reflux when it was tight.
I encouraged his parents to let go of the helmet but they were
committed to it. They actually believed the helmet more effective
than craniosacral therapy so I was grateful for my opportunity to work
with him and respected their belief.
After the cranial base release, his head shape changed dramatically
over a period of 3-6 weeks. He "graduated" from the helmet about that
time. He still had a slightly flat occiput but his head would gently
change shape with change in position (from supine to sitting). Based
on this, I believe that his head continued to mold simply because his
rhythm was strong and effective. I think continued craniosacral
therapy would have changed his head shape a bit more but I don't think
it would ever have become completely round. I also think it would
have been a slow process from that point, with or without CST.
In getting the cranial base release, which occurred over several
treatments, I definitely felt that the helmet was working "against" my
work. As soon as he was fitted for a new helmet, which was much
looser, the helmet didn't seem to impede his rhythm at all. Of
course, his growth and developmental rate sped up so much once his
cranial base released, it didn't take long for it to be tight again.
Its completely possible that my experience was affected by a bias
against the helmet. He didn't mind it but he sure didn't like to wear
it...


--- In craniosacralnetwork@yahoogroups.com, nouvie45 <no_reply@...>
wrote:
>
> anybody had any experience of cranial helmets with plagiocephaly.
thanks
>