During the American Academy of Pediatrics National Conference and Exhibition a group of physicians introduced an osteopathic manipulative treatment for infants with positional plagiocephaly, which they said proved effective and offered secondary benefits such as improved feeding, fussiness, reflux, and sleep.
The authors of the abstract, “Safety and Feasibility of Osteopathic Manipulative Treatment (OMT) in Addressing Plagiocephaly,” studied 67 families whose infants underwent the treatment over ten visits.
“Families of infants with plagiocephaly often want treatment options that are gentle and noninvasive,” said Kimberly Wolf, DO, FAAP, FACOP, FAAPO, NABBLM-C. “Our study demonstrates that osteopathic manipulative treatment is safe, well-accepted by families, and provides additional benefits for the baby’s health.”
Current management typically consists of repositioning strategies and helmet therapy for infants with persistent or more severe deformity.
“A flat head is a common reason parents bring their infants to the pediatrician in the first few months of life—yet until now, families have had strikingly few choices for treatment,” Wolf said. “Our research team wanted to know if there we could help close that gap—finding an option that works with the baby’s own body to help improve the head’s shape and addresses the root causes behind the flat head.”
