Chiropractic plagiocephaly (head asymmetry)

​Positional plagiocephaly is an asymmetrical deformation of the infant skull from prolonged external pressure on the soft cranial bones of the infant, in the absence of craniosynostosis (fusion of bones) (1). Do you know of a loved one who has positional plagiocephaly? This is an important article that could make the world of difference to you.
 
“Among those with positional head deformity, 7.5% had a developmental disorder within 7 years of follow-up” (2)
 
Risk factors for positional plagiocephaly include prematurity, prolonged labour, unusual birth position, assisted delivery, multiple birth, first-born child, neck problems, maternal age greater than 35 years, and male (3). Plagiocephaly of the back of the head, posterior occipital plagiocephaly is quite prevalent today and has reached an incidence of 19.7% at 4 months (4). It has been reported to be associated with delays in motor development, language, cognition, visual field restriction, malocclusion and muscular dysfunction (5,6,7).
 
The helmet is considered a low-risk and effective intervention for moderate to severe plagiocephaly, with its effectiveness strongly age dependant, with optimal outcomes achieved when initiated before 6 months of age (1,8). Can chiropractic also be of benefit with the management of plagiocephaly?
 
In a recent research literature, where they did a retrospective cohort study, 24 infants were looked at. They were divided into 2 groups, 12 infants only had the helmet therapy, while the other 12 infants had the helmet therapy combined with chiropractic care. It was found that helmet therapy duration was not shortened with combined chiropractic care. However, for the infants that had combined chiropractic care and helmet therapy, superior cranial symmetry outcomes were observed at discharge, potentially indicating more efficient symmetry correction (9). Though a larger sample group would help further substantiate these findings, these findings are quite positive.
 
If you want to find out if chiropractic may help manage plagiocephaly for your loved ones, have a chat with one of our chiropractors to see how they can assist.
 
“The earlier the intervention the more positive the outcome”
 
1. Kim, J., Kim, J. and Chae, K.Y., 2023. Effectiveness of Helmet therapy for infants with moderate to severe positional plagiocephaly. Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics, 67(1), p.46.
2. Lynch, M.E., White, M.J., Rabatin, A.E., Brandenburg, J.E., Theuer, A.B., Viet, K.M., Hollman, J.H. and Driscoll, S.W., 2024. Incidence of nonsynostotic plagiocephaly and developmental disorders. JAMA pediatrics, 178(9), pp.899-905.
3. Bialocerkowski, A.E., Vladusic, S.L. and Wei Ng, C., 2008. Prevalence, risk factors, and natural history of positional plagiocephaly: a systematic review. Developmental Medicine & Child Neurology, 50(8), pp.577-586.
4. Bridges, S.J., Chambers, T.L. and Pople, I.K., 2002. Plagiocephaly and head binding. Archives of disease in childhood, 86(3), pp.144-145.
5. Cabrera-Martos, I., Ortigosa-Gómez, S.J., Lopez-Lopez, L., Ortiz-Rubio, A., Torres-Sanchez, I., Granados-Santiago, M. and Valenza, M.C., 2021. Physical therapist interventions for infants with nonsynostotic positional head deformities: a systematic review. Physical therapy, 101(8), p.pzab106.
6. González-Santos, J., González-Bernal, J.J., De-la-Fuente Anuncibay, R., Soto-Cámara, R., Cubo, E., Aguilar-Parra, J.M., Trigueros, R. and López-Liria, R., 2020. Infant cranial deformity: cranial helmet therapy or physiotherapy?. International journal of environmental research and public health, 17(7), p.2612.
7. Panza, R., Piarulli, F., Rizzo, V., Schettini, F., Baldassarre, M.E., Di Lorenzo, A., Tafuri, S. and Laforgia, N., 2024. Positional plagiocephaly: results of the osteopathic treatment of 424 infants. An observational retrospective cohort study. Italian Journal of Pediatrics, 50(1), p.166.
8. Corte, A.D. and Rohde, M.A., 2025. Use of orthotic helmets in children with positional plagiocephaly and brachycephaly: a systematic review. Child's Nervous System, 41(1), p.163.
9. Marchand, A.M., MChiro, M. and Leader, M.C., Chiropractic manipulative therapy with helmet therapy, association with treatment duration and cranial asymmetry outcomes for moderate to severe positional plagiocephaly: a retrospective cohort study. JOURNAL OF CLINICAL CHIROPRACTIC PEDIATRICS, p.2105.