my son was diagonse with torticollis. are their any other parents out there that have children with this?

Answer 1

Torticollis is a result of a muscle "knot" in the sternocleidomastoid muscle (the muscle that attaches between the sternum, the collar bone and the corner of the jaw) and it results in the head being turned away from the affected side and ear tilted towards the affected side. sometimes this is excerbated by phagiocephaly (which means a flattened head shape, a result of babies sleeping on their backs to prevent SIDS). so if the baby has a flattened skull, it's harder to turn its head towards the affected side of the torticollis.

To treat the torticollis, there are several things you can do: one, make sure you spent time with your baby doing tummy time - that is to play with your baby with him on his tummy when HE IS AWAKE! this would allow him to strengthen his neck and back muscles.You can start with him laying on your chest - depends on how old your baby is, or on the floor with a play mat and toys to encourage him to lift his head up and towards the affected side of the torticollis. Two; you can re-position him in the cot, changing the position where his feet and head lays, so that he will have to turn towards the entrance to the room, to see you coming in. (or facing you in your bed, depending on the layout of your cot and room). the idea is to encourage him to turn to look for you when he hears you coming. you can also hang brightly coloured toys to the affected side, so he will turn to look at them when in a car seat or reclining bouncer. Thirdly and most importantly, you have to do stretches to help lengthened the affected sternocleidomastoid muscle. these exercises need to be carried out regularly and frequently throughout the day for a few minutes. and you can easily do them during your daily routine of care for your baby. these exercises are not particularly pleasant for the baby, and he will cry, however they are very important. you will need to seek the advice of a Paediatric Physiotherapist who will teach you and demonstrate to you on your baby how to do them. the results are well-worth the heartache you may feel as you perform them on your baby.

majority of babies diagnosed with torticollis, do not have "true structural torticollis" that requires surgery. and doing the above will often help to resolve the condition. It is best to start the activities and exercises when the baby is young, as trying to hold down a wriggling active 12 month old or 2 year old will be near impossible. the sooner you start the better. So do seek the advice of a trained Paediatrics Physiotherapist or Paediatrics Occupational Therapist or Paediatrician - it depends on which country you are in. In australia the Paediatrics Physiotherapist is the person most suitable for your purposes and needs.

having done all the above, there is still a very small percentage of children who may require a minor surgery to 'snip' the sternocleidomastoid muscle to lengthen the muscle and related corrective spinal surgery. This however will be at the disgression of a Peadiatric Orthopeadic Surgeon. Often the indications for surgery is when there is an uncorrectable head tilt (returns with every growth spurt), and a 15 degree or more obvious asymmetry of the facial features. often surgery may not be considered until much later.

Answer 2

My son had severe torticollis, which he developed in the womb. He was positioned in a strange spot, and his neck was to the side when he was born. His whole face was crooked (nose looked like someone had mashed it to one side, ear was connected to side of head). He was diagnosed very late because the pediatrician missed it (even though we pointed out that something was wrong). He screamed all the time, and everyone but us thought he had colic. It turns out the torticollis hurt him. He had an arm that became weak due to the torticollis, and he was unable to turn over on his own because of it. He even stopped using it for a while. He also crawled and walked very late because he was trying to work around this painful condition. In addition, over time, one side of his neck became very long and one became very short.

Long story short, we did a combination of myofascial release and traditional physical therapy for about a year. He is now fine. The only thing he still has is an occasional crossed eye. The eye doctor thinks that will work its way out over time, but is watching him closely. I strongly agree with the answer above that surgery is almost never necessary. Surgeons will encourage it, though, because it is their living. The therapy is difficult to sit through, because it makes the baby cry. I still believe it was better than knocking him out and cutting on his neck unnecessarily.

My son is three now, and is doing fine. No one knows now, unless they knew back then. Don't give up, whatever you do. This condition is not well known, and some doctors will try to steer you away from therapy. Do your research, stick to your guns, and pray. You and your baby will be fine. It is a very curable condition as long as you stick to doing the exercises and the therapy. One thing I would do, though, is severely limit the time your baby spends in a car seat, bouncy seat, or anything that contains him and does the muscle work for him. It is very important that your treat him ASAP.

Answer 3

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Answer 4

My younger son was diagnosed with it at birth. His pediatrician gave us specific neck exercises to do, which he absolutely hated, but he's a year old now and his neck is straight as an arrow. :) We only did the exercises for about 2 months or so, then his neck straightened out on its own.

Answer 5

My son had a slight case of this and his Occupational Therapist showed me exercises to do to strengthen his neck muscles so he did not have to wear the headgear that a lot of babies with this condition usually have to wear.