Re: OT- Kim-Torticollis-Sorry Long!

[Guest guest]

Kim,

Plagio does not cause torticollis- vice versa- children that have tort will sometimes get plagio (flat spot) because they are constantly favoring one side. For example, babies are unable to sit up, so they are constantly laying the backs of their head on something, carseat, bouncer, crib for sleeping, etc. This constant pressure on the back of the head can result in plagio in some children, and in tort children, will usually lead to flatness on the side that they favor- because they are constantly turning in that direction and "rubbing" that area. One cause of tort is by constraint or inability to move the muscle while inutero- my son was almost 10 lbs. and 21.5 inches, too big and was squished- he had no room for movement and was essentially stuck in one position, this caused a stunted growth of the muscle, causing it to be tight. In my situation, was so wedged in and big, when they pulled his arm, they tore the muscle as it was so tight, and created a hematoma or lump- not all tort kids get this lump.

>> was about to fall asleep and I moved his head..Oh well..he moved it back. What happens if Tort is left untreated? Are the stretching exercises enough? <<

You will find that it is a constant battle to turn your child's head the way they don't want to. This is why we opted for the band. Repositioning was not working for us because the torticollis was so bad that not 10 seconds after repositioning, his head would "spring back" to the favored, non-tort side. This was very confusing at first, because tort and plagio are essentially two different problems, although for tort kids, usually one causes the other- but not always. In hindsight, also had plagio at birth, since he was so squished, it also mishaped the growth of his head, although not apparent to us, but to CT very. The tort aggravated the already bad situation by perpetuating his need to use only one side, further flattening that area.

Tort left untreated can cause several problems: upper scoliosis, because the head tilt will make the brain think that is normal posture, and the spine will curve to meet the base of the head or brain stem; (not all tort kids have a tilt, and sometimes tort can shift from each side- a very rare thing); Facial asymmetry, the muscle is so tight it pulls everything to it like a magnet. On the tort board, a young woman wrote that her parents thought her tilted head was a cute pose, and did nothing, and she has severe pain although she never said specifically why. Another 27 year old wrote in pleading with parents to do something now, in his day, parents were not informed about tort and many docs said "they'll grow out of it!" He said he looks like he was in a car accident and is socially, and emotionally handicapped because of tort. Tort is very fixable through stretching. Don't feel bad for stopping the stretches, it is very confusing, I know- been there, done that! You still have plenty of time for stretches, as your child is only 8 months old. I went to pt with a mom that her son was dx with plagio first, and THEN torticollis at 10 months old. At 13 months, he was doing fantastic and I would have never known he had a problem. My son as well, he was ear to shoulder, and now very midline. I will try to attach a before and after pic on Monday. Some tort kids also have problems reaching milestones, like walking- because they are off kilter in their balance (they are looking sideways really)- but my son thankfully was early with every milestone.

Talk with all the moms on the tort board, you will get so many tips from everyone on simple ways to make them turn their head (videos, dog, etc.) and neat tricks like, putting a towel under the non-tort bottom, this shifts their way of "midline" and makes them actually hold their head straight. But the key is to do home stretches. Ask a pediatric pt to show you how to do these important stretching exercises on a daily basis and use the weblinks to show you as well. Good luck and please ask me anything I have left out!

' Mom (DOC grad)