Helmets: No longer just for bikers

When Ryan was around 2 months old, we noticed he had developed a flat spot on the back right side of his head (plagiocephaly). The pediatrician said a mild case of torticollis made Ryan favor laying on the right side of his head. Since the diagnosis, we've stepped up our efforts to get Ryan crawling and we've been repositioning him to sleep on his left side. With no improvement by a age of 6 months, the pediatrician recommended we see a specialist treating plagiocephaly.

Here are some photos from our first visit with the Orthomerica lab about 2 weeks ago....





The two most abnormal measurements were:
1) As viewed from above, Ryan's diagonal length differential is 10mm. The nurse said that they recommend cranial remolding helmets for anyone above 5mm.
2) As viewed from above, Ryan's width to length ratio is 95%. 75-80% is normal and they recommend helmets for anyone above 90%.

From the scan of Ryan's head, they were able to make a foam mold. A technician adds plaster to the flat areas in order to make the head symmetric. Then a helmet is made using the modified foam mold...


Last Friday we finally got the helmet. Here's the orthopedist making some final adjustments....





We're now in a 5 day ramp up period, after which Ryan will need to wear the helmet 24 hours a day for the next 4 months. So far, Ryan has worn the helmet for four 1-hour sessions and he's handled it very well. No crying.