Hi! My 4 month old was diagnosed at 8 weeks with Tortocollis. We have been doing PT for the last couple of months and it is nearly resolved, but she still has Plagiocephaly...aka smushed head. Have any of your kids had this? We are looking into doing a helmet to correct it, but I need to know whether to do the "Doc Band" or the "Star Band". I just want to do what is best for my daughter. Thanks!
First of all, thank you SO much to all of you who responded!! I am overwhelmed that each of you took time out of your busy schedules to help me. We have decided to go with the Doc Band. This is certainly not the easy path, but after much thought and prayer we believe this will be the best course of treatment for our baby girl. I should have mentioned in my original post that we live in Amarillo, 6 hours from the closest clinic in Dallas. There are two "brace and limb" clinics here in town who will do the Star Band, but they have to make a mold of the head, send it off somewhere to be made, and then their practitioners here make the adjustments. But they only do a couple a year. I would by no means consider them to be "experts". This method is tempting, however, because it's only $1300 (only!), and our insurance will pay. I'm just not comfortable with the level of experience here. The Doc Band, on the other hand, is $3500 and is out of network with out insurance. And we will be paying around a thousand for flights. But helmets are ALL they do. I feel more comfortable knowing her HEAD will be cared for by experts. Plus, everything I have read says the Star Band weighs around a pound where as the Doc is only a few ounces. Also, I should have mentioned before that we have been under the care of a great chiropractor through out my pregnancy and every week or more since she was born. He even came to the hospital and adjusted her when she was 12 hours old. So, thank you to all of you who suggested this course of treatment, but I think we need to get a little more aggressive. Anyway, just pray that we are making the right decision!
Go see Dr. Conrad Speece for cranial sacral therapy. He works wonders. His office is located in Garland, TX.
My daughter was diagnosed with the exact same conditions at 8 weeks also. I was informed that she may need to wear a helmet. We did the PT excercises recommended & the torticollis resolved very quickly. Her plagiocephaly did not. However, at 4 months old, her posture was strong enough that she was able to sit in her excersaucer & I really worked with her on tummy time. I decided at that point to take the "wait & see approach". Now at 6 months, her plagiocephaly is nearly resolved & I am quite sure her pediatrician will no longer be recommending a helmet or the bands. I firmly believe that once she was no longer prone the majority of the day is what helped her. Granted, every child is different & this may not work for your daughter, but be patient & see what happens when she starts to be more upright. Hopefully your little angel won't have to do such an aggessive therapy! Good luck to you!
We went through the exact same thing as you are.
We went with the DOC band at the time through Crainal Technologies in Dallas. It worked great but my DD did not like the molding process.
I think the Star Band now has a device that scans the head instead of having to do a molding process. I would look into both and see which does what.
The baby I watched had the Star band and it worked just like my DD Doc Band.
Check with your ins company and see if they will pay for it. Ours had a clause which would not cover this and it cost us $3000 cash. We did use the Care Now credit card which helped alot.
The baby I cared for ins paid for their star band. It just depends on the ins.
We chose to do BOTH - PT and Doc band for our daughter which helped a lot.
Although she does have motor ticks on that side now.
Good luck!
We used Star Cranial- they were THE BEST! I loved the experience. The other people were nice, but they seemed more interested in our money than helping our 5 month old.
We went through the same thing with my son. He was dx at 4 months w/Plagio & Tort. We went through STARband and I LOVED them. Nancy was great!!! He wore it from 6 months to 10 months & now his head looks great (he's 21 months now). We tried the wait & see approach & nothing worked. We also went through PT for the Tort from 4 months to 6 months & that was resolved as well. The whole experience was very easy overall. It was way harder on me than my son. He could have cared less about his helmet the whole time. He never affected his sleep or anything. I've very happy we decided to go through with the process. Good Luck!
CRAZY! I am in your EXACT same position RIGHT NOW! I put my own post out just two weeks ago with this very same request. Didn't get many responses. I was overwhelmed with wanting to make the best decision for me daughter. I WILL tell you that my daughter's condition wasn't caught until 4 mos by her doctor (which is very upsetting) and now she is 6 mos. We're starting PT AND getting the helmet at the very same time in just two weeks. Not sure how that will go?! She gets fitted this Wednesday. Don't know what to expect from the PT. Anyhow, after doing all my research, we are going with Cranial Tech. I was WAY impressed with the scanning equipment at Star Cranial, however, after doing research I found that the helmets are VERY heavy through them.....2-3x. I can't think of putting any extra strain on my daughter's neck.....but that's just me. You must keep in mind, though, that Star, because their helmets are so much thicker, can usually treat with one helmet and you may pay for two at Cranial Tech - or more. Cranial Tech appears to do an initial and exit scan but does the rest of their work by eye and perhaps hand measurements. I had many more people rave about Cranial Tech, personally. They also have many locations all over the US and Star does not. Hope that helps you! :?
My son was in DOC band for 12 weeks when he was 8mos old. He was diagnosed with tort and plagio as well. We did the exercises and tried re-positioning but in the end he needed the band. The people at Cranial Technologies in Dallas are very kind. They answered all of my many questions with patience and understanding. There is also a plagiocephaly group on Yahoo that I would recommend joining as well. It doesn't matter whether you decide on the DOC band or the Star band. This group is also very supportive and they provide you with a lot of tips when going through this process. Take care and just know you're doing the best thing for your child.
My daughter had both conditions as well. We went with the DOC band. Our experience was great and I know they have improved the process since. (We did it 7 years ago) I did research both but our doctor prescribed DOC so that's who we went with. Totally worth it! Good luck.
We did the Star Band for my daughter. However, we interviewed both companies. She is two now. We started her wearing it at around 5 months or so. She had to wear it for 8 months. I liked them b/c they had newer technology and they seemed to understand the skull/head a little more. A big plus as well was the fact that our insurance ended up covering 95% after some fighting. They did not take it off too early; I really felt like we were getting very good care. I had heard that the Doc Band company sometimes takes the helmet off too early and the child has to end up wearing two helmets at $3k a piece. We were very pleased and still are with the results. Additionally, I felt like the service was excellent. It was a lot of work; however, very happy that we did it. Good luck with your decision.
Hi A.,
We did the DOC band for my daughter mainly because I hadn't heard of the STARband until I read you post. I hadn't heard of the DOC band either until our doctor recommended it because of my daughter's Tortocollis and Plagiocephaly. We were very pleased with the results of the DOC band and the people at Cranial Technology. Make sure you emphasize the torticollis for insurance purposes. Ours concidered it a medical condition that covered the cost of the band.
Good Luck, B.
I haven't heard about the Star Band, but my daughter is currently in a Doc Band. She didn't get in it until 11mos and has had it on about 8 weeks. We have been VERY happy with it and can really see a difference already. She has about 6 more weeks to go! It has not seemed to bother her at all and has not affected her sleeping. Also, we really like the staff at Cranial Tech, they are very friendly and professional. Hope that helps...good luck!
Our daughter had this same problem...we noticed it very early on but they told us to wait and see. They gave us excercises to do at home which we did but the flattening of the head did not resolve. By 6 months you could definitely tell how flat it was on one side. We went forward with the DOC band and she got it at almost 7 1/2 months of age...wore it for almost 12 weeks. It was the BEST thing we did. I'm all for trying natural approaches such as PT and going to a chiropractor first but don't feel bad going forward with the band. It does NOT harm them in anyway and the majority of kids tolerate it really well. Plus we did it at this time of year which was great b/c it isn't too hot so they don't sweat that much..if you want longer and go into summer...the kids get sweaty and the band can get stinky. YOu do clean it every day and they can take it off for only 1 hour a day usually during bath time. If you have specific questions IM me...I'm a huge fan of the DOC band and think it was well worth it.
Hi,
I am a nutritionist, Doctor of Naturopathic Medicine and a Chiropractor. Tortocollis is easy to resolve. I use a technique called CranioSacral Technique and we have seen miracles with it. CranioSacral works through the craniosacral system - the skull and sacrum, the membranes and cerebrospinal fluid that surround and protect the brain and spinal cord. With the use of very light contact, we can monitor and balance the rhythm of the system at key points to pinpoint the source of restriction or stress. Go to www.upledger.com to learn more. I am in Coppell, TX so if that is to far for you there is a practitioner locator on the website. "Your health is your greatest wealth!" Dr. Cindy L. Russell
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My son also had plagiocephaly, and we went with the Doc band. The people at Cranial Technologies were very kind and helpful. The office was in Dallas so it was easier for us to get to the weekly/bi-weekly visits for adjustments. Our case worker did a great job of calming our fears, and making sure that our son received great care. I hated that he had to wear the helmet, and had a few guilt issues because of it. But he never seemed to mind it, and only had to wear it for 3-4 months. Now he is 3, and you can barely tell that his head was flat.
Just as an aside, we painted his helmet to make it a little less clinical looking, and it actually turned out really cute.
We used the DOC band when my son was 4-6 months old. We had a good experience with the folks at Cranial Technologies. I don't know that one is better than the other. See if your insurance covers either one. You might also want to check out one of the Yahoo groups dedicated to Plagio. You'll find so much valuable information and tips there. It was a life saver for me.
