A study conducted in China investigating whether infants with positional head deformity who receive helmet therapy have cosmetic improvement and found that helmet therapy may be more effective in the treatment of mild-moderate-severe positional head deformity than postural correction training.
A total of 376 infants at age 2-40 months old who were diagnosed with mild-moderate-severe positional head deformity were enrolled, and 101 were treated with helmet therapy or postural correction training. After matching by each child’s age and time of therapy, three retrospective cohort studies of 56 infants with plagiocephaly, brachycephaly, and asymmetrical brachycephaly were conducted. The researchers also compared the cephalic ratio (CR), radial symmetry index (RSI), cranial vault asymmetry (CVA), and cranial vault asymmetry index (CVAI) between the two groups before and after treatment.
Before treatment, there were no significant differences in CR, RSI, CVA, and CVAI between groups. After treatment, compared with the postural correction training group, the helmet therapy group had significant improvements in CR, RSI, CVA, or CVAI; moreover, there was no significant difference in head circumference growth between the groups.
