-OT-tort

[Guest guest]

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Throughout this past year, I have learned so much about tort, and its interesting to learn that some kids have the tilt, and some do not. Some have limited ROM, and not the tilt! Very confusing to say the least. The fact that your son is tilted, to my unprofessional opinion, noting that an x-ray ruled out any bony anomalies, would suggest that the muscle is tight, causing the head to be pulled to the shoulder- muscular tort. There is also another condition in which the tilt can switch from side to side, again, this one is rare and I know the tort group could direct you to another support group that deals with that one! Because the flat spot is on the opposite side of the tilt, shows that he is definitely favoring one side. This is creating the flat spot on the side that he is constantly on or turning to. Do your own test to measure his range of motion: take an interesting object that holds his attention and go from side to side (really make him turn both ways with his head). If he won't go beyond a certain point, you will notice him lose interest, or have trouble and turn his whole body to see it......my son would look up instead of over to compensate).

It is so important to work on this as untreated, it can cause upper scoliosis, facial asymmetry and physical delays (the tilted posture will make the spine shift to protect the brain stem). You have started the chain of events that will help your son get through all of these hurdles. I can't lie, this was a hard job- the constant stretching and weekly pt was a handful, but the end result is so worth the hard work- and you'll get there too but its important to start early, the younger you start, the sooner you'll see results and better your chances for complete resolve.

Ask your ped to refer you to a neurologist for a second opinion on the tort and its severity/ or / just go ahead and ask for a referral for pt since the MRI was already done. Tell your ped that you want a professional pt to evaluate your child and help with the tort stretches. Usually hospitals have a pediatric pt- you will have to search for those that specialize in tort and infants.

My ped did not recommend the band, but from learning things here and doing some homework, I felt it was our best shot at keeping him from getting worse. I sought a free eval. at CT in Miami (no referral needed, no cost, no ped involved, just called and made the appt. for a free consult) at 3 mnths- they told me to reposition for a month to exhaust that route. At 4 mnth ped check up, I had pretty much made up my mind that the band is what we needed, until the ped calmed my fears and told me she's seen worse. A day later I called back and said I WANT THE REFERRAL FOR THE BAND. She did it over the phone with no problem. (I think this is not the norm!).

To put the icing on this cake, now the ped thinks it was the best decision to band, as he is in daycare (points I told her all about!) and repositioning was not going to work for us. Now she is forever commenting on how nice his head shape is! So, the moral of my story is, be proactive, educate yourself, don't always think the Doctor's know everything, and listen to that mommy instinct that is buzzing in your ear right now, you are your child's best advocate- so be his voice and you will get resolve! Good luck and please let me know if I can help- I would be glad to help with any questions I can answer. Please keep us updated! Hope the links will help you!

' Mom