Torticollis?

Re: Torticollis?

• KaLikeAWind member

  August 2015

  No experience but wanted to wish you and your LO well

  

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• camsmommy-2 member

  August 2015

  I thought my baby had this because he always turns his head to one side. When our doctor examined him at his two month check up it turns out he doesn't have it, he just prefers to turn his head to that side. They way she explained it is the muscles in the neck get so tight, it is so hard to even turn their neck (I think from being in the womb). She said if he did have it mildly she would give us exercises to do but if it was really severe she would send us to physical therapy. My understanding is if the neck is really tight it is fixable with physical therapy. That's how our doctor explained it to us before examining him and realizing he didn't have it. Hope this helps a bit.

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• babyhobs member

  August 2015

  Our pedi also thinks our LO has it. She suggested massaging his neck on the side he favors, facing him away from the action so he is inclined to look the way he doesn't favor, and turn his head gently when he is awake and favoring one side. I have also read that tummy time helps as their neck muscles get stronger!

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• Poppy1099 member

  August 2015

  Ds1 had it. He only turned his head to one side and it was causing his face to droop on the other side. We were evaluated by a ped orthopedic dr and sent to physical therapy. The home exercises are easy to do at each diaper change and we avoided having to wear a helmet bc it was caught and treated so early and his facial muscles strengthened and no droop lingered. I think his case may have been more severe than others bc his neck caused him quite a bit of discomfort and he constantly cried and didn't sleep. He was like a brand new child after his first PT appointment. He is 8 now and has no issues from it.

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• ElRuby member

  August 2015

  My son had it and physical therapy helped a lot.... If you have access to early intervention get an evaluation and they can provide services if your child qualifies.

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• am&n member

  August 2015

  Lurking from another board...my son was diagnosed with a severe case of torticolllis at 2 months. He had a tilt and couldn't turn his head to one side. We started PT at 3 months. He did need a helmet because his features(eye, check and ear) were being pushed forward and we couldnt prevent this from happening. He had to wear his helmet for six months, this was not a big issue for him.
  
  Fast forward, our son is a little over two and we still do PT twice a week. He wears a neck collar for several hours a day. He still has a tilt and still struggles with turning his head completely one way. We have had three visits to the neurologist, spaced about 4 to 6 months apart. At each visit, he has continued to make progress but still not 100%. We have elected to continue with the PT because the next step is Botox from the neurologist. We go back in November. At that point, if the doc and us feel he hasn't made a lot of progress we will go with the Botox.
  
  However, through all of this, our son has done really well and doesn't seem to have any physical pain. I believe he is rather "rare" in that our therapist has never had a case of torticolios last so long. Most of the time it is corrected through PT.
  
  Good luck to you!

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