Cranial Head Remoulding - Orthomerica STARband

Flat Head Syndrome in Babies: Plagiocephaly, Brachycephaly & Scaphycephaly

Many babies are born with abnormal head shapes that come as a result of birth. Most newborn baby’s heads will revert to a normal shape within 6 weeks. If an abnormal shape persists, or occurs after 6 weeks it is important to determine a diagnosis.  As a baby’s head is very malleable, repeated external pressure can cause skull deformities known as positional or deformational plagiocephaly.

Plagiocephaly is derived from the Greek words meaning “Oblique Head” it is the umbrella team for 3 types of positional head deformity.

a)    Plagiocephaly

b)    Brachycephaly

c)    Scaphycephaly

Each of these describes where the flattening occurs.

The four images above display the four common areas of flattening.   From left to right: 1. Symmetrical Brachycephaly (flattening directly across the back of the baby’s head) 2. Right Plagiocephaly (Flattening on the back right hand side of the baby’s head) 3. Scaphycephaly (flattening either side of the baby’s head) 4. Asymmetrical Brachycephaly (Flattening across the back and left side of the baby’s head) All of these head shapes can be treated with a STARband Helmet at Vitality in Motion.

There are a number of common associated cosmetic changes linked with Plagiocephaly that can all be explained due to the area of flattening. These are:

• Prominent bossed forehead
• Parallelogram shaped head
• No neck line
• One ear shifted forwards in relation to the other

• Wide head shape
• Asymmetric eyebrow and eye socket shape
• More prominent cheek bone on one side
• Cone shaped head

 

There are also some consequential physical problems that can occur due to the cosmetic changes. These can include:

• Eyesight problems
• Visual disturbances and difficulties
• Inner ear problems
• Ear and eye infections

• Hearing problems
• Headaches and migraines
• Temperomandibular/jaw problems linked to chewing and eating.

There is the additional possibility of children suffering psychological problems, bullying and social isolation due to an abnormal head shape, difficulty wearing glasses, hats and cycle helmets.

Dr Orlena Kerek on the BBC website bbc.co.uk/health has reported “1 in 300 infants were affected with this condition in 1992, increasing to 1 in 60 in 1999”.

Argenta et al researched a study comparing periods 1990-1992 with 1992-1994 which demonstrated a fivefold increase in the incidence of positional plagiocephaly deformity.

If you suspect your child has Plagiocephaly, Vitality in Motion offers a free assessment to determine your childs diagnosis and possible treatments.

During your assessment your Cranial Remoulding Specialist will ask a number of questions relating to pregnancy, labour and your childs first few months, a number of measurements will be taken of your childs head, a diagnosis will be discussed with you and a course of action will be advised in order to treat your child.  This could be in the form of repositioning techniques, advise on products, a STARband cranial remolding helmet or a combintaion of the three.

The Clinical Specialists at Vitality in Motion, Cardiff, South Wales are highly qualified within the diagnosis and treatment of Plagiocephaly and Brachycephaly and have treated 100's of babies with 100% sucess rate.  We are very pleased to offer a professional friendly service and pride ourselves in being able to have the time to listen to each family independantly, therefore providing individual custom treatment plans and advise for our families.

Vitality in Motion is very proud to be working with Orthomerica; the World Leaders in cranial remoulding treatment, having treated over 40,000 babies sucessfully worldwide.

The images above are taken from the STARscanner.  The image on the left (black image) shows an initial 3 dimensional baby’s head scan.  This image would be viewed immediately after the 1.9 second scan has been taken of your childs head in the STARscanner.  It is from this accurate image that the STARband’s are manufactured.

The image on the right (White image) shows the comparison pictures before treatment and at discharge when treatment is completed.  The two 3 dimensional images correlate and the image far right of the screen shows the difference before (red circumferential lines) and after treatment (blue circumferential lines) of a child who had left plagiocephaly.  It is clearly evident from this image where the helmet has held across the one diagonal and allowed the growth to be channelled into the other diagonal.

This image to the left illustrates how the growth is channelled into the flattened area within a STARband Helmet.  The STARband is illustrated as the purple band around the baby's head.  The baby in this image has right plagiocephaly with a flattening over the back right side of the head, which has caused a right frontal bossing.  Inside the Helmet the baby’s growth is held along the longest diagonal with no pressure exerted onto the baby's head and all growth is channelled into the voided parts of the helmet, therefore throughout treatment allowing symmetry to occur at the back of the head and the forehead areas.

The total cost of the whole treatment including the STARband helmet, up to three scans using the STARscanner, the cleaning products and unlimited review sessions is £1950

 

Please refer to the Frequently Asked Questions Pages for more indepth specific information.

Vitality in Motion offers:

• A free no obligation assessment.
• Professional Friendly Advice and Treatment.
• Highly Qualified Registered Health Care Professionals.
• Honest, accurate diagnosis and prognosis
• Highest Quality Orthomerica STARband helmet.
• Safe,researched scanning with the Orthomerican STARscanner.
• Treatment available 7 days a week from 09:00 - 20:00
• Free Car Parking in Cardiff City Centre

• City Centre Location with ample communication lines.
• Fully accessible treatment rooms.
• Free refreshments
• Baby Changing Facilities.
• Disabled Access
• 24 Hour telephone contact.
• Payment Plan Options.