Hello! New here.

[Guest guest]

Hi there,

My name is (Chris), and I believe my 7 week old son, Mack, has

plagio and tort. I had noticed his head was misshapen since birth but

figured it was normal since I had a very hard vaginal delivery. Plus Mack

was stuck in the same position through most of my pregnancy. Every

ultrasound from 20 weeks on showed him in the same exact spot.

Soon after birth I noticed his ears were not the same. His right ear is much

flatter and larger looking, plus he favored that side and wouldn't turn his

head to the left. He's getting better at it now because his crib mirror is

on his left side, but always sleeps and does everything looking right.

I mentioned these to his pediatrician and she didn't seem concerned. Just

said to try to get his attention on the other side so he's turn his head.

She told me about tummy time, but only so he'd crawl someday - not because

of head shape. I only gave him tummy time for a few minutes 2 times a day,

but now I know he needs much more! Unfortunately, he screams and screams. I

think it's because he has trouble lifting his face up forward and just ends

up smashing his face into the blanket. (Any advice?)

Anyway, recently I happened to look at the top of his head and was shocked

to see how misaligned his ears are. Plus he has a bulge on one side of his

forehead.

We have a ped appt. on the 29th and I'm going to show her this and hopefully

get referred. She probably thinks I'm a worrier because on top of this I am

rearranging Mack's vaccination schedule too (we have autism and autoimmune

problems in the family) which doesn't make her job easy. LOL

I'm happy to have found this group. You all seem very nice. I took some

photos of Mack's head and ears. They are at this link if you'd like to see

them:

http://users.adelphia.net/~chanisco/plagio/

Thanks! I look forward to getting to know you all.

Chris

New Hampshire, USA

[Guest guest]

Hi

Welcome to the group! I'm getting goose bumps reading your story and having deja vu! My son was dx with torticollis at his 2 month check up, with left tort, meaning his left sternomatecloid neck muscle was tight and he could not rotate his head left due to it being constricted inutero, and basically stunted as it was not allowed to grow or move properly. The ears were also a concern, and although my ped dx the tort, she dismissed the ear misalignment, smaller eye, etc (we asked for the referral for the DOC band at 4 month check-up, in band a week before 5 months). Your son looks, in my opinion, to have left tort, although not nearly as severe as my son was, and the ears are also similar- one being smaller (here's my theory there: along with the neck muscle, the ear was not "allowed" to grow as the other did, it was pressed or even folded into one position inutero, this is called the "tort ear"). The great news is that Mack is sooooo young, that you will probably see great results with physical therapy. Ask your ped for a specific dx of torticollis at the 2 month check up- if he/she can't do it, ask for a referral to a specialist. Don't let her blow you off- and you need a referral for a physical therapist. My nuero also ordered an MRI- to rule out anything other than muscular- some tort can be caused by a fusion of the spine or even hip displasia, but in most cases, its simply a tight neck muscle that needs to be stretched and lengthened. I will attach a link that will show you a little more about tort, its effects, and check into a great support group at www.torticolliskids for more advice, they are a great bunch. Mack's plagio, as far as flattening goes, does not look bad, but with tort, they tend to only look one way and time spent in bouncers and swings can perpetuate this problem and lead to flattening of his right side- try to reposition off of his right side as much as possible. I know your probably very concerned, and very scared, as I was when someone posted me about all of this, but Mack looks like with a little pt he will do just fine. We also used massage, and craniosacral therapy, which is also like massage. Keep also in mind that the left muscle is pulling his facial features down, and likewise it can pull up his upper torso (rib cage, shoulder) and lower torso (hips). I found massage and simple stretching of the limbs very helpful in alleviating these problems. Also, its not uncommon for babies to hate tummy time, and with tort, the non-tort muscle has to work harder, because the tort muscle is making it hard for them to keep that head up, try a rolled up towel and put under the armpits- but don't give up or give in to the cries (take it slow, minutes at a time at first) and soon he'll get better at it- its so helpful to build up those muscles. I'm happy to tell you that at 18 months, is midline, and the DOC band helped align his ears perfectly, as well as dissipate any facial asymmetry he had and flatness on the back right, and minor bossing on the left forehead- I feel in conjunction with pt, the DOC band, massage and cranio, all turned out well! Ok, rambling here! Please email me if I can help you in anyway!

' Mom

here are some links for you:

Torticollis Info

Stretches/ Holds

DOC band info (check out before and after pics)

[Guest guest]

Hi

Well, from what you describe Mack sounds like he does have plagio and possibly

tort. It is great that you are catching this so early because repositioning and

stretching (for the tort) could be very effective in correcting Mack's

headshape. Check out www.plagiocephaly.org/support for some tips on

repositioning. You can also check out our bookmarks section for some products

that are supposed to help with repositioning and tummy time. One quick thing to

try is to roll a blanket or towel and place it under Mack's chest. That will

keep his head from getting on the floor.

The key here will be to get help for the tort as soon as possible. The tort will

make the repositioning very, very difficult. You may wish to push your doc for a

referral for physical therapy. You have plenty of time to think about doing a

band, but the physical therapy should happen right away.

You are doing the right thing by pushing the ped for a referral. You are Mack's

best advocate and mommy knows best!!! Good luck to you and Mack and I hope you

will keep us posted.

Marci (mom to megan)

Oklahoma