Plagiocephaly (Flat Head Syndrome) Treatment with Craniosacral Therapy

Plagiocephaly, like most conditions, has a spectrum of severity.  Some children have mild plagiocephaly while others can have severe cranial distortions.

This condition can occur due to congenital causes (present at birth) or develop throughout infancy from positional or deformational causes (babies spend around 700 hours on their backs not including baby containers such as car seats and strollers). Statistically, over half of babies to some measure experience one of the two forms of Plagiocephaly; Congenital or Positional.

No two babies are alike, and that includes head shape.  Plagiocephaly only becomes a concern when there are gross asymmetries in the child’s head.   Head shapes of babies may vary depending on how a baby is born and the positions they are in during their first few months of life. Babies’ skulls are softer at birth so that they can shift and move through the birthing process as needed, and most babies’ heads will return to a round shape shortly after birth.   As babies get older, they may begin to develop a flat spot on the back or side of the head. Because young babies can’t move around or sit up yet, laying in one position at all times can create this flat spot on the skull.

With any of these head shape deformities there is often also a facial asymmetry. You may notice things such as; difference in eye height and shape, difference in ear position, difference in fullness of cheeks and lips, difference in the shape of the corner of the mouth and nose,  a prominence of the forehead. Your baby may also prefer to lay in one direction or you may notice that they do not look both ways evenly and there is a restriction or hesitancy when moving their neck. Plagiocephaly can also compromise brain function, leading to an under-functioning of the central nervous system and therefore decreased performance throughout the body (Citation).

The correcting plagiocephaly requires an understanding of the cranium, the different skull fontanels start to naturally solidify and come together. At 1-3 months the posterior fontanel closes, the sphenoidal and mastoid fontanels (side of skull) close around 6 months and lastly the anterior fontanel closes around 12-18 months.

Alternative treatments such as Craniosacral Therapy and Chiropractic care are effective, and can both treat and significantly improve Plagiocephaly.  These treatments assess your babies spine and cranial dural system, looking for any imbalances that may be present. Chiropractic care and Craniosacral Therapy for babies is extremely gentle, involving little adjustments using light finger pressure, no more than would be used to check the ripeness of a fruit.

A subluxation occurs when one or more of the bones of the skull and spine (vertebrae) move out of position and create pressure on, or irritate spinal nerves. Between each of the bones in your spine are spinal nerves. This pressure or irritation on the nerves then causes malfunction and interferes with the signals traveling over those nerves.  When a vertebra subluxates, there is decreased motion in that joint. The decreased motion in the spine reduces a baby’s range of motion. When a vertebra in the cervical spine subluxates, the entire neck and head are affected. Mindful of this, if a baby cannot move their neck freely due to a subluxation, the baby will keep their head in a certain position for extended periods of time, thus contributing to plagiocephaly.

Hence removing any subluxations in the head and spine through specific Craniosacral Therapy treatments and or Chiropractic Adjustments, the baby’s head is given a chance to realign misalignment and diminish Plagiocephaly.   Please reach us if we may be of help to you.