You can choose to do both. You can also choose to do neither. The helmet can reshape the head (not treat torticollis), and PT can stretch the neck muscles. However, neither the helmet nor PT addresses the root causes of plagiocephaly and torticollis. Osteopathic treatment aims to get to the bottom of why plagiocephaly and torticollis happened in the first place, without making you feel guilty or judged, and you can spend less time juggling appointments.

Osteopathic treatment can help with latching difficulties/pain, colic/fussiness/gassiness, reflux/arching back, torticollis and laying in a c-shape, blocked tear ducts/goopy eyes, constipation, and sleep. Oftentimes, these challenges are related and coming from the compressive forces of delivery. Osteopathic treatment aims to free up the root causes.

The soft spots of the head come together around 12 months old, but the bones of the head never fuse, even as an adult. A fused bone has a straight line. The sutures of the skull are jagged because there is always tiny motion, which can be seen as motion artifact on an MRI. Treatment for reshaping the head should be done during the window of time that the soft spots are open because of the degree of motion available. After 12 months, very small, incremental changes can happen up to 15-18 months old.

There are no guarantees in medicine. Physicians are also prohibited by the state medical board from making such claims. Anyone type of provider who guarantees a result, you should think twice and run the other way. The promise I CAN make to you is I will do my best to help your baby and treat them as if they were my own.

Once neck motion is symmetric and constant pressure is off the flat spot, improvements generally hold as the skull and child grow. I have never had to reshape the head again after treatment was complete. There have been instances when parents have noticed a child’s head tilt come back during growth spurts, and we are able to treat the torticollis during those times.

Standard guidance emphasizes repositioning, physical therapy for torticollis, and helmets for select cases. There are relatively few physicians who focus on osteopathic treatment for babies, and therefore, it is less well-known.

I practice osteopathy in the cranial field (OCF), which is where CST originated from. OCF is taught as part of my physician training and board certification in neuromusculoskeletal medicine/osteopathic manipulative medicine (NMM/OMM). I have great relationships with many CST providers who also refer to me.

No referral is required. Many families are referred by their pediatrician, lactation consultant, craniosacral therapist, physical therapist, or find me online, looking for alternatives to the helmet.

Every child is different. What they present with is unique and the severity can differ from person to person. All these things will determine how quickly the body responds to treatment. I take pictures before and after each treatment. The first set is taken as a baseline. The following pictures are taken to show progress, and the further we go with treatment, the more changes can be seen. Another reason for pictures is when you’re with your baby everyday, it’s harder to see subtle differences. Pictures taken at the visits can be reassuring to parents. Treatment can take several weeks to months, depending on severity.