Guest guest Posted April 2, 2002 Report Share Posted April 2, 2002 cindy, what is the therapy ball? emma was diagnosed with tort at 5 weeks and she's now 6 months. the PT says she now has full range of motion to the left, but i see her hunching her shoulder when she turns left. also, she will only turn that way if there is something she really wants to look at. she tilts. and she has the lump, although it has gotten smaller. we see the PT every three weeks, but i do stretches and massage with her at home. the days i am not home with her (i work from home 2.5 days a week/in the office 2.5 days a week), i usually only get in one set of stretches. i am looking for ways to make the stretches easier on both of us. currently, i have been doing them when she drifts off to sleep in my lap. thanks. amy mom to emma (born 9/24/01) > e, , Christy and other tort moms, > I can so relate to you all, and I can tell you that it will, or should, get > easier in regards to the tort. When I found out had tort at 2 > months, I cried and cried. Then I got busy! Then I got tired!! Stretching > is no easy task. As I'm sure your all aware at this point. And you feel so > overwhelmed!! Did I stretch enough today? Is he going to be ok? Are we > really hurting him, or helping him? > The therapy ball was a great source of " entertainment " for , we would > put him on his tummy, or have him sit up looking at the T.V. and roll from > side to side so he would " right " his head to midline. was in > professional therapy from 3 months to 9 months- 2x a week plus everyday > stretches and massage from mom and Dad- he was considered severe and also had > the lump. The lump was a severe hematoma and finally dissipated around 6-7 > months old. I can also tell you that although he is considered " resolved " as > the muscle is stretched out, he is almost 15 months and we are STILL having > him do stretches, although its mostly making him " right " his head (very > important to strengthen that opposite muscle to be able to do this), and we > still see him tilt his head on occassion- although its not that common > anymore. The tilt, or I feel the constant tilt, is the last to go. The > occassional tilt I was told may be a comfort position, but making sure they > sit up straight, and correct that posture will help for the long run. The > more on top of it you are now, the easier it will be in the long run- and I > know how stressful doing those daily stretches (which usually makes them cry! > are. I was told that even when they appear resolved, keep an eye on this > (posture, milestones) until 2 years old. > I cried myself when FINALLY could lay on his stomach and turn his > head left- I thought we'd never see that day!! A tip for that working for > you- we would turn his head when he was sleeping, and sometimes he would just > wake up, but we still tried as much as possible. I would say its not a good > idea to force them, but my pt was not " gentle " and would make him turn his > head that way- the key is to have lots of distractions to make it " fun " to > look that way. would lay on the mat on his back and I would blow > bubbles as my pt would turn his head left. We were fortunate that a lot of > our stretches were done successfully while he was conked out. Our pt showed > us relaxation techniques, I would use massage, and then go for it. He had no > problem after awhile turning to the left when on his back, but on his > stomach, he couldn't do it for the longest time! I also would lay him on me, > belly to belly, and kind of have him half to my side and then have him turn > left, so it wasn't a full rotation to the left. This eased us into it > better. I want to stress not to be very " agressive " and twist that neck fast > and hard, but keep in mind that you can't be too passive with this either, as > the muscle is already tight, only time and improper posture will make it > worse without getting somewhat " aggressive " with those stretches. Holding the > stretch longer to the left and right helps as well. If you were to think of > a relaxing neck exercise, where you rotated your head in each direction, back > and up, this is essentially what we did as well. > Keep the faith, you will be able to see that light at the very end of a long > tunnel- and I think that was the hardest part- looking for a quick fix- some > tort is worse than others and takes much longer to resolve- keep plugging > away. He now has full rotation to the left, and rarely tilts, but I will > still tell him " hold your head up straight " and believe it or not, this 15 > month old knows what I'm saying and sometimes listens (poor thing is probably > traumatized!!). But I think this is what we HAD to do, and I'm sure he'll > thank us later for being very proactive and on top of getting this resolved. > I will probably always notice a slight degree of tilt when he gets tired, or > hits growth spurts, but in comparison to where we've come from, I'll take it! > Good luck and keep the faith! > > ' Mom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 2, 2002 Report Share Posted April 2, 2002 cindy, what is the therapy ball? emma was diagnosed with tort at 5 weeks and she's now 6 months. the PT says she now has full range of motion to the left, but i see her hunching her shoulder when she turns left. also, she will only turn that way if there is something she really wants to look at. she tilts. and she has the lump, although it has gotten smaller. we see the PT every three weeks, but i do stretches and massage with her at home. the days i am not home with her (i work from home 2.5 days a week/in the office 2.5 days a week), i usually only get in one set of stretches. i am looking for ways to make the stretches easier on both of us. currently, i have been doing them when she drifts off to sleep in my lap. thanks. amy mom to emma (born 9/24/01) > e, , Christy and other tort moms, > I can so relate to you all, and I can tell you that it will, or should, get > easier in regards to the tort. When I found out had tort at 2 > months, I cried and cried. Then I got busy! Then I got tired!! Stretching > is no easy task. As I'm sure your all aware at this point. And you feel so > overwhelmed!! Did I stretch enough today? Is he going to be ok? Are we > really hurting him, or helping him? > The therapy ball was a great source of " entertainment " for , we would > put him on his tummy, or have him sit up looking at the T.V. and roll from > side to side so he would " right " his head to midline. was in > professional therapy from 3 months to 9 months- 2x a week plus everyday > stretches and massage from mom and Dad- he was considered severe and also had > the lump. The lump was a severe hematoma and finally dissipated around 6-7 > months old. I can also tell you that although he is considered " resolved " as > the muscle is stretched out, he is almost 15 months and we are STILL having > him do stretches, although its mostly making him " right " his head (very > important to strengthen that opposite muscle to be able to do this), and we > still see him tilt his head on occassion- although its not that common > anymore. The tilt, or I feel the constant tilt, is the last to go. The > occassional tilt I was told may be a comfort position, but making sure they > sit up straight, and correct that posture will help for the long run. The > more on top of it you are now, the easier it will be in the long run- and I > know how stressful doing those daily stretches (which usually makes them cry! > are. I was told that even when they appear resolved, keep an eye on this > (posture, milestones) until 2 years old. > I cried myself when FINALLY could lay on his stomach and turn his > head left- I thought we'd never see that day!! A tip for that working for > you- we would turn his head when he was sleeping, and sometimes he would just > wake up, but we still tried as much as possible. I would say its not a good > idea to force them, but my pt was not " gentle " and would make him turn his > head that way- the key is to have lots of distractions to make it " fun " to > look that way. would lay on the mat on his back and I would blow > bubbles as my pt would turn his head left. We were fortunate that a lot of > our stretches were done successfully while he was conked out. Our pt showed > us relaxation techniques, I would use massage, and then go for it. He had no > problem after awhile turning to the left when on his back, but on his > stomach, he couldn't do it for the longest time! I also would lay him on me, > belly to belly, and kind of have him half to my side and then have him turn > left, so it wasn't a full rotation to the left. This eased us into it > better. I want to stress not to be very " agressive " and twist that neck fast > and hard, but keep in mind that you can't be too passive with this either, as > the muscle is already tight, only time and improper posture will make it > worse without getting somewhat " aggressive " with those stretches. Holding the > stretch longer to the left and right helps as well. If you were to think of > a relaxing neck exercise, where you rotated your head in each direction, back > and up, this is essentially what we did as well. > Keep the faith, you will be able to see that light at the very end of a long > tunnel- and I think that was the hardest part- looking for a quick fix- some > tort is worse than others and takes much longer to resolve- keep plugging > away. He now has full rotation to the left, and rarely tilts, but I will > still tell him " hold your head up straight " and believe it or not, this 15 > month old knows what I'm saying and sometimes listens (poor thing is probably > traumatized!!). But I think this is what we HAD to do, and I'm sure he'll > thank us later for being very proactive and on top of getting this resolved. > I will probably always notice a slight degree of tilt when he gets tired, or > hits growth spurts, but in comparison to where we've come from, I'll take it! > Good luck and keep the faith! > > ' Mom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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