Seeking Input Regarding Torticollis and Related Physical Therapy

Hi C.!
This is a very common condition in infants. My first daughter had it and I'm a Physical Therapist! It's very hard on us mothers to make our babies uncomfortable. Try distracting her first with something interesting, then hold a good stretch that your therapist has shown you. Also, gently put her in the position she needs to be stretched in while she is sleeping. This has to be done everyday so her muscles later on will develop evenly and she will be fine. Good Luck!

Have you tried having your child adjusted by a chiropractor? I am a chiropractor and I have treated several children for torticollis. They typically respond very quickly. I have been adjusted since the day I was born and I have been adjusting my daughter and neices and nephews since the day they were born. It makes a huge difference! It is scary to trust anyone with your child, but I can say from experience that gentle adjustments can make a great difference in your childs life - and yours! Please feel free to call if you have any questions or so I can refer you to a Doctor in your area. Thanks!
Dr. Sandra S. ###-###-#### or ###-###-####.

C.,

I have another "Mamasource" friend who is out of town right now, but her daughter now 2 1/2 has been receiving therapy for this for a long time. I am going to send her the email, as I know she is checking personal email, just not sure about mamasource email, while she is gone. Her name is Inga. Her daughter has come a long way! I can understand how frightening therapy can be, but I can reassure you that from what I have seen in my friend's daughter, it has helped her immensely!
A.

Dear Carla,

I guess we are in the same shoes. Had my (only) son with 36 and he has Torticollis. He is 9 months now and he was diagnosed about 2 months ago. We do physical therapy once a week and work out at home. He improved tremendously since he has been crawling. The success rate is very high. Please let me know if you have further questions.

Astrid

Since I didn't know what orticollis was I googled it and found what I thought might be a helpful website.
http://www.torticolliskids.org/
All of you will be in my prayers.
Hope this helps.

Hi C.
I am a physical therapist, and treating torticollis is very successful with P.T. I have little ones too, so I know it is hard to see your child have to go thru this. You should see a big difference in little time. Make sure your p.t. is giving you positioning tips for when you daughter is sleeping and keep up your home exercise program for her. Everything will be ok, I have treated my niece and a friend's son for it and they are fine! email me if you have any more questions, ____@____.com

my son was diagnosed with the same thing at about 3 months of age. we just did very vigorous exercises at home for about two months and it completely cleared up. the exercises were pretty traumatic for me because i felt like i was stretching his poor little neck too far. after a few days though, he was very used to it and didn't fuss at all. we turned his neck as far to the side opposite of the torticollis and then massaged the lump. i would repeat this about 20 times a day. he recovered completely and is now a happy 13 month old. i had actually almost forgotten about the whole thing until your posting. you'll get through it just fine :-) M.

My older daughter was diagnosed @ one month. We did therapy @ home as well as with a therapists & it was gone by 6 months. She is noe 3-1/2 & has NEVER had any issues with it at all! It is better when they are diagnosed young because their muscles have not be "uneven" for that long & can better more quickly "fixed." Do not worry...it will all work out! Good luck!

C.

I see you already have lots of responses. My daughter is 14 months old and was diagnosed at 4 months. She is fine now. Just a couple of things I wanted to add. My daughter also had Plagiocephaly as a result of the tort and wore a helmet for 3 months. Take a look at your child's headshape (and have others look too because mom's won't always see the imperfections) to see if there are any flat spots on the back of her head (on the side she tilts to) or bulging of the cheek, forhead or side of the head above the ear. If so you can get a free eval from Cranial Technologies in Dallas. It's important to do the exercises every day. As your daughter grows and learns new things (crawling, cruising, walking) you may see her tilt return. It is normal because she will be focusing on her new skill and return to her "comfortable position". Once the skill is mastered she will straighten her head again. One last thing. If your daughter fights the stretches then she is getting the negative result and therefore making the muscle work opposite of the desired effect. If she fights it, find a different stretch or try again at another time when she is more relaxed. Email me if you need anything else or have other questions. ____@____.com

C.,

My son was diagnosed with Torticollis around 5 months and we went to physical therapy and did excercises at home and in a few months he was vastly improved and didn't need to go to therapy anymore. We continued to do excercises/stretches at home and repositioning during sleep and he is now 19 months and you would never know to look at him that he ever had any issues. It's great that you're being so proactive while she is so young, the sooner the better. It will all work out wonderfully. Good luck!

C.

Hi C. - I work for an outpatient therapy clinic and we see allot of kids like this and its great that they caught it while she is only 4 months old and it is in most cases corrected in a few months of therapy and with you doing the home exercises she will have a faster recovery. Now the therapy is not usually plesent as they dont like the stretching but just keep telling yourself it has to be done and it is for the better and she will not remember when she gets older...I know its scary but she will be fine, we see lots of kids with this diagnosis and they all back to where they need to be and they are fine... good luck! K.

I didn't know what this was but just went to www.dogpile.com and typed in Torticollis and got a ton of websites specifically designed to be support groups and information sources for you. I'd start there! :) Good luck!

C. -
I don't have a child with torticollis, but I am a physical therapist who has treated children with torticollis. Let me assure you that I have never seen a bad outcome as long as the treatment plan is followed. Normally, the child doesn't like the stretches that are prescribed and will cry through them in the beginning. However, it is important to perform them as your therapist ordered. Don't feel like you're hurting her too much. It sounds like you're doing the very best for your little girl. She's lucky to have you! Good Luck.

WOW! I am going through the same thing right now. My daughter is 5 months old and her pediatrician is just now diagnosing her. We have known something was wrong and kept pressing the issue.....
Anyway, she has a neck xray on Friday and begins physical therapy after.

I am hoping that everything will work out and won't have to go through this very long..