Re: DOC Banding on Monday & Torticollis PT Questions

[Guest guest]

Hi !

My son will be getting his DOCBand next Monday (2/11/08), so we're

both " newbies " in that area. I hope they both adjust well!

As for PT, my son was 2m old when we started. I had to do massaging

and neck stretches on him 3-5 times a day. Not fun! My son would cry

and I would just have to hold those stretches no matter what (I

would turn his head to each side and hold it down, then tilt his

head ear to shoulder on each side and hold. There was also a way

that I held him across the front of my body facing out and used the

crook of my elbow to stretch his neck (hard to describe)). We also

did the " passive " exercises at every opportunity: when changing his

diaper, feeding him, sleeping, in the carseat (we put him on the

side of the car that would urge him to look to his weak side,

towards his big sister), and holding him so that he looked out on

his weak side. We also did a lot of tummy time and stability ball

work and urged him with toys to look in both directions. We were in

PT for about 6 weeks, on a weekly basis, then did about 2 followups,

and the tort was resolved. I still did the repo stuff for his

plagio, but I haven't seen any issues with the tort since. Without

knowing how you're doing the stretches exactly, it's hard to say

whether you're doing them right or not. But our PT had me do them in

the office, so she could work on the proper technique with me, and

gave me handouts with pictures of the stretches on them. Aside from

the first appointment, where I learned a lot, I wouldn't say every

appointment was a learning experience. She would just get to work on

Jake and ask how the exercises were going. Having said that, I

thought she was great! She definitely helped us out.

I haven't had any experience with my son getting " stuck. " I'm not

quite sure what you are describing exactly, but I would imagine I

would understand if my son had been through something like it.

Good luck with everything!

in Raleigh

Jake 16.5m-DocBand 2/11/08

>

> Hello All,

>

> I'm new to this group and am SO glad I found it. My five month

old

> daughter is going in to receive her DOC band on Monday, and I'm

> really nervous about it. I was hoping some of you Mom's that have

> been through this can give me the good, the bad, and the ugly.

I've

> heard about the smell, so I'm prepared for that, but what else

should

> I be prepared for? How will my daughter react? How will friends

and

> relatives react? How will strangers react?

>

> Also, I've read a few posts about PT for Torticollis. I've been

> taking my daughter for a couple of months, but have to admit that

I'm

> not thrilled with our Phyiscal Therapist. I come away thinking I

> didn't learn much. What types of exercises are you doing? Ours

has

> me doing mainly " passive " exercises -- in other words positioning

> toys such that she'll have to turn her head/neck a certain way to

see

> them. I'm supposed to be doing brief active exercises - where I

> actually stretch the neck, but I'm honestly not sure if I'm doing

it

> right...

>

> Finally, has anyone else experienced your child getting " stuck "

> because of the torticollis? In other words, where they're kind of

> crooked in a " ( " or " ) " shape from head to toe? (Sorry for the

weak

> description.) My daughter has this happen about once a week --

and

> IT SWITCHES SIDES -- sometimes she's stuck to the left, and

sometimes

> to the right. It's wierd.

>

> Thanks in advance for any help you can give me!!

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

Hi ,

I will definately say my experience with both of my boys in DOC bands

has been more " good " than " bad " or " ugly " As for the smell, there

are ways of minimizing that...you can look up several old posts on

here with great advice. And I have only had positive reactions from

ppl regarding the bands. I decorated them to look like lil football

helmets and the reaction was always that they thought it was a cute

lil helmet rather than a medical device...which made it so much

easier.

As for the torticollis, my son is older, so there are a lot of

interactive things we do to stretch and advance his motor skills, but

even at 5 mos there are fun lil games you can play. I used to give

my son kisses (facing him out)on the " good side " of his neck which

made him stretch to that side and then I would hold it for as long as

he would let me. I never had to really get him upset, it's just a

matter of finding what works. Luckily, he doesn't mind the pressure

point release technique and I just set some toys in front of him and

can work on the whole area pretty well. Also, we do the " ride a lil

horsey " game on my knees and then make him fall to the side so he has

to pull up with his bad side to strengthen the affected area. My PT

explained to me that because of the tort, his whole side was

tightened from his head to his hips, so we work on abs and general

long stretching on an exercise ball...this may also explain your

daughter getting stuck...although both sides makes me uncertain and

I'm no specialist, but I would definately ask about this, because we

never experienced anything like that.

I also wanted to mention that we started with a different therapist

and she too was only giving me " passive " instructions for home, but

our new PT (within the same practice) has been much more aggressive

with treatment which I love...

I hope this helps... Good luck to you, and trust that you will find

this to be one of the best decisions you ever made..

Shenelle

Katy, TX

> >

> > Hello All,

> >

> > I'm new to this group and am SO glad I found it. My five month

> old

> > daughter is going in to receive her DOC band on Monday, and I'm

> > really nervous about it. I was hoping some of you Mom's that

have

> > been through this can give me the good, the bad, and the ugly.

> I've

> > heard about the smell, so I'm prepared for that, but what else

> should

> > I be prepared for? How will my daughter react? How will friends

> and

> > relatives react? How will strangers react?

> >

> > Also, I've read a few posts about PT for Torticollis. I've been

> > taking my daughter for a couple of months, but have to admit that

> I'm

> > not thrilled with our Phyiscal Therapist. I come away thinking I

> > didn't learn much. What types of exercises are you doing? Ours

> has

> > me doing mainly " passive " exercises -- in other words positioning

> > toys such that she'll have to turn her head/neck a certain way to

> see

> > them. I'm supposed to be doing brief active exercises - where I

> > actually stretch the neck, but I'm honestly not sure if I'm doing

> it

> > right...

> >

> > Finally, has anyone else experienced your child getting " stuck "

> > because of the torticollis? In other words, where they're kind

of

> > crooked in a " ( " or " ) " shape from head to toe? (Sorry for the

> weak

> > description.) My daughter has this happen about once a week --

> and

> > IT SWITCHES SIDES -- sometimes she's stuck to the left, and

> sometimes

> > to the right. It's wierd.

> >

> > Thanks in advance for any help you can give me!!

> >

> >

> >

>

[Guest guest]

With tort when you do the stretches make sure to take the band off during that time. The ortho we had recommended that to us. Tammykeejaylove <keejaylove@...> wrote: Hi ,I will definately say my experience with both of my boys in DOC bands has been more "good" than "bad" or "ugly" As for the smell, there are ways of minimizing that...you can look up several old posts on here with great advice. And I have only had positive reactions from ppl regarding the bands. I decorated them to look like lil football

helmets and the reaction was always that they thought it was a cute lil helmet rather than a medical device...which made it so much easier.As for the torticollis, my son is older, so there are a lot of interactive things we do to stretch and advance his motor skills, but even at 5 mos there are fun lil games you can play. I used to give my son kisses (facing him out)on the "good side" of his neck which made him stretch to that side and then I would hold it for as long as he would let me. I never had to really get him upset, it's just a matter of finding what works. Luckily, he doesn't mind the pressure point release technique and I just set some toys in front of him and can work on the whole area pretty well. Also, we do the "ride a lil horsey" game on my knees and then make him fall to the side so he has to pull up with his bad side to strengthen the affected area. My PT explained to me that because of the tort,

his whole side was tightened from his head to his hips, so we work on abs and general long stretching on an exercise ball...this may also explain your daughter getting stuck...although both sides makes me uncertain and I'm no specialist, but I would definately ask about this, because we never experienced anything like that.I also wanted to mention that we started with a different therapist and she too was only giving me "passive" instructions for home, but our new PT (within the same practice) has been much more aggressive with treatment which I love...I hope this helps... Good luck to you, and trust that you will find this to be one of the best decisions you ever made..ShenelleKaty, TX> >> > Hello All,> > > > I'm new to this group and am SO glad I found it. My five month > old > > daughter is going in to receive her DOC band on Monday, and I'm > > really nervous about it. I was hoping some of you Mom's that have > > been through this can give me the good, the bad, and the ugly. > I've > > heard about the smell, so I'm prepared for that, but what else > should > > I be prepared

for? How will my daughter react? How will friends > and > > relatives react? How will strangers react?> > > > Also, I've read a few posts about PT for Torticollis. I've been > > taking my daughter for a couple of months, but have to admit that > I'm > > not thrilled with our Phyiscal Therapist. I come away thinking I > > didn't learn much. What types of exercises are you doing? Ours > has > > me doing mainly "passive" exercises -- in other words positioning > > toys such that she'll have to turn her head/neck a certain way to > see > > them. I'm supposed to be doing brief active exercises - where I > > actually stretch the neck, but I'm honestly not sure if I'm doing > it > > right... > > > > Finally, has anyone else experienced your child getting "stuck" > > because of the torticollis? In other

words, where they're kind of > > crooked in a "(" or ")" shape from head to toe? (Sorry for the > weak > > description.) My daughter has this happen about once a week -- > and > > IT SWITCHES SIDES -- sometimes she's stuck to the left, and > sometimes > > to the right. It's wierd.> > > > Thanks in advance for any help you can give me!!> > > > > >>

Never miss a thing. Make your homepage.

[Guest guest]

Hi ,

Thanks for the reply. Good Luck next Monday getting your band!

Thanks for the info on the PT. It sounds like you have a much better

physical therapist than we do. I " technically " know how to do the

stretches, but I never know how " hard " to push. My therapist said

that if my daughter resists the stretch then it's not doing any

good. And it always seems like she's resisting. I've tried

massaging that neck muscle when I'm trying to do the stretches, and

that seems to do a lot of good.

It's funny, she'll go for days and look " normal " then she'll

get " stuck " again. By " stuck " I mean her whole little body -- from

head to toes is " stuck " in either a " ) " shape, or a " ( " shape, versus

being straight up and down " | " . Does that make sense? In other

words, her head is " stuck " towards her shoulder, but it seems like

her sides are contributing too. So, if I hold her up in front of me,

facing me, with my hands under her arms, she looks like " ) "

versus " | " . It's hard to describe. Sorry, I'm probably doing a bad

job.

Anyway, everytime I think we've got the tort solved (meaning she goes

days looking like " | " ) then she'll wake up " stuck " again. She was

stuck last week to the right " ( " and she woke up this morning stuck

to the left " ) " . It's SO wierd. I guess she just has really weak

muscles and when I work her on one side the other side gets weak. I

don't know...

I'm so worried that the excess weight of the band is going to make

the torticollis worse.

Thanks again for your help!

> >

> > Hello All,

> >

> > I'm new to this group and am SO glad I found it. My five month

> old

> > daughter is going in to receive her DOC band on Monday, and I'm

> > really nervous about it. I was hoping some of you Mom's that

have

> > been through this can give me the good, the bad, and the ugly.

> I've

> > heard about the smell, so I'm prepared for that, but what else

> should

> > I be prepared for? How will my daughter react? How will friends

> and

> > relatives react? How will strangers react?

> >

> > Also, I've read a few posts about PT for Torticollis. I've been

> > taking my daughter for a couple of months, but have to admit that

> I'm

> > not thrilled with our Phyiscal Therapist. I come away thinking I

> > didn't learn much. What types of exercises are you doing? Ours

> has

> > me doing mainly " passive " exercises -- in other words positioning

> > toys such that she'll have to turn her head/neck a certain way to

> see

> > them. I'm supposed to be doing brief active exercises - where I

> > actually stretch the neck, but I'm honestly not sure if I'm doing

> it

> > right...

> >

> > Finally, has anyone else experienced your child getting " stuck "

> > because of the torticollis? In other words, where they're kind

of

> > crooked in a " ( " or " ) " shape from head to toe? (Sorry for the

> weak

> > description.) My daughter has this happen about once a week --

> and

> > IT SWITCHES SIDES -- sometimes she's stuck to the left, and

> sometimes

> > to the right. It's wierd.

> >

> > Thanks in advance for any help you can give me!!

> >

> >

> >

>

[Guest guest]

Hi Shenelle,

Thanks for the response! I think I'm going to ask Cranial

Technologies tomorrow for a referral to a different physical

therapist. Our current therapist recommended coming in every THREE

weeks and the folks at CT said that with my daughter's " complex neck

issues " she should be going in once a week. I think I definitely

need a new physical therapist. Thanks for reminding me that that is

an option!

> > >

> > > Hello All,

> > >

> > > I'm new to this group and am SO glad I found it. My five month

> > old

> > > daughter is going in to receive her DOC band on Monday, and I'm

> > > really nervous about it. I was hoping some of you Mom's that

> have

> > > been through this can give me the good, the bad, and the ugly.

> > I've

> > > heard about the smell, so I'm prepared for that, but what else

> > should

> > > I be prepared for? How will my daughter react? How will

friends

> > and

> > > relatives react? How will strangers react?

> > >

> > > Also, I've read a few posts about PT for Torticollis. I've

been

> > > taking my daughter for a couple of months, but have to admit

that

> > I'm

> > > not thrilled with our Phyiscal Therapist. I come away thinking

I

> > > didn't learn much. What types of exercises are you doing?

Ours

> > has

> > > me doing mainly " passive " exercises -- in other words

positioning

> > > toys such that she'll have to turn her head/neck a certain way

to

> > see

> > > them. I'm supposed to be doing brief active exercises - where

I

> > > actually stretch the neck, but I'm honestly not sure if I'm

doing

> > it

> > > right...

> > >

> > > Finally, has anyone else experienced your child getting " stuck "

> > > because of the torticollis? In other words, where they're kind

> of

> > > crooked in a " ( " or " ) " shape from head to toe? (Sorry for the

> > weak

> > > description.) My daughter has this happen about once a week --

> > and

> > > IT SWITCHES SIDES -- sometimes she's stuck to the left, and

> > sometimes

> > > to the right. It's wierd.

> > >

> > > Thanks in advance for any help you can give me!!

> > >

> > >

> > >

> >

>

[Guest guest]

The DOC is extreemly light. THey say 6oz. but I think it may even

be less.

> > >

> > > Hello All,

> > >

> > > I'm new to this group and am SO glad I found it. My five

month

> > old

> > > daughter is going in to receive her DOC band on Monday, and

I'm

> > > really nervous about it. I was hoping some of you Mom's that

> have

> > > been through this can give me the good, the bad, and the

ugly.

> > I've

> > > heard about the smell, so I'm prepared for that, but what else

> > should

> > > I be prepared for? How will my daughter react? How will

friends

> > and

> > > relatives react? How will strangers react?

> > >

> > > Also, I've read a few posts about PT for Torticollis. I've

been

> > > taking my daughter for a couple of months, but have to admit

that

> > I'm

> > > not thrilled with our Phyiscal Therapist. I come away

thinking I

> > > didn't learn much. What types of exercises are you doing?

Ours

> > has

> > > me doing mainly " passive " exercises -- in other words

positioning

> > > toys such that she'll have to turn her head/neck a certain way

to

> > see

> > > them. I'm supposed to be doing brief active exercises - where

I

> > > actually stretch the neck, but I'm honestly not sure if I'm

doing

> > it

> > > right...

> > >

> > > Finally, has anyone else experienced your child

getting " stuck "

> > > because of the torticollis? In other words, where they're

kind

> of

> > > crooked in a " ( " or " ) " shape from head to toe? (Sorry for

the

> > weak

> > > description.) My daughter has this happen about once a week --

> > and

> > > IT SWITCHES SIDES -- sometimes she's stuck to the left, and

> > sometimes

> > > to the right. It's wierd.

> > >

> > > Thanks in advance for any help you can give me!!

> > >

> > >

> > >

> >

>

[Guest guest]

I do understand what you're explaining now, perfectly. No, my son

definitely did not get stuck like that (or at least, god forbid, I

didn't notice it! I really would hope that I would...). I would say

it's perplexing for sure, and would definitely ask someone (the new

PT? or CT? They are physical and occupational therapists to begin

with, maybe they could shed a little light). I think it's weird that

it would be happening/alternating on both sides, since it would seem

the tort should really only effect one side, but maybe I'm wrong. I

can imagine that the tort would effect the whole side of the body,

since I've heard that it can be connected to hip problems as well,

but again, it seems weird that it would happen to both sides if only

one side is supposedly weak. Hmmm...

I would really be interested to hear what you find out about it, so

please keep us posted. Good luck with the band today!

in Raleigh

Jake-17m DocBand 2/11/08

> > >

> > > Hello All,

> > >

> > > I'm new to this group and am SO glad I found it. My five

month

> > old

> > > daughter is going in to receive her DOC band on Monday, and

I'm

> > > really nervous about it. I was hoping some of you Mom's that

> have

> > > been through this can give me the good, the bad, and the

ugly.

> > I've

> > > heard about the smell, so I'm prepared for that, but what else

> > should

> > > I be prepared for? How will my daughter react? How will

friends

> > and

> > > relatives react? How will strangers react?

> > >

> > > Also, I've read a few posts about PT for Torticollis. I've

been

> > > taking my daughter for a couple of months, but have to admit

that

> > I'm

> > > not thrilled with our Phyiscal Therapist. I come away

thinking I

> > > didn't learn much. What types of exercises are you doing?

Ours

> > has

> > > me doing mainly " passive " exercises -- in other words

positioning

> > > toys such that she'll have to turn her head/neck a certain way

to

> > see

> > > them. I'm supposed to be doing brief active exercises - where

I

> > > actually stretch the neck, but I'm honestly not sure if I'm

doing

> > it

> > > right...

> > >

> > > Finally, has anyone else experienced your child

getting " stuck "

> > > because of the torticollis? In other words, where they're

kind

> of

> > > crooked in a " ( " or " ) " shape from head to toe? (Sorry for

the

> > weak

> > > description.) My daughter has this happen about once a week --

> > and

> > > IT SWITCHES SIDES -- sometimes she's stuck to the left, and

> > sometimes

> > > to the right. It's wierd.

> > >

> > > Thanks in advance for any help you can give me!!

> > >

> > >

> > >

> >

>

[Guest guest]

Hello All,

I just wanted to let everyone know that we got the band today and ...

so far, so good. She didn't seem to mind it at all. In fact she was

smiling and flirting with the therapist when she was adjusting it.

When I put it back on after the first " red spot checking " off period

she cried a little bit, but not much. And, she took a nice nap in

her crib this afternoon with no problems and a catnap in her swing

too. I just put her down for the night, so I'm hoping that she'll do

well all night too.

The messages here were right -- so far the band has been worse on me

than on her.

Thanks for the support!

>

> Hello All,

>

> I'm new to this group and am SO glad I found it. My five month old

> daughter is going in to receive her DOC band on Monday, and I'm

> really nervous about it. I was hoping some of you Mom's that have

> been through this can give me the good, the bad, and the ugly.

I've

> heard about the smell, so I'm prepared for that, but what else

should

> I be prepared for? How will my daughter react? How will friends

and

> relatives react? How will strangers react?

>

> Also, I've read a few posts about PT for Torticollis. I've been

> taking my daughter for a couple of months, but have to admit that

I'm

> not thrilled with our Phyiscal Therapist. I come away thinking I

> didn't learn much. What types of exercises are you doing? Ours

has

> me doing mainly " passive " exercises -- in other words positioning

> toys such that she'll have to turn her head/neck a certain way to

see

> them. I'm supposed to be doing brief active exercises - where I

> actually stretch the neck, but I'm honestly not sure if I'm doing

it

> right...

>

> Finally, has anyone else experienced your child getting " stuck "

> because of the torticollis? In other words, where they're kind of

> crooked in a " ( " or " ) " shape from head to toe? (Sorry for the

weak

> description.) My daughter has this happen about once a week -- and

> IT SWITCHES SIDES -- sometimes she's stuck to the left, and

sometimes

> to the right. It's wierd.

>

> Thanks in advance for any help you can give me!!

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

we always did our tort exercises with the helmet off two times a day. We are now thank God Tort free. We do constantly look for regression but so far so good. Take off the helmet and do your stretches. keejaylove <keejaylove@...> wrote: Hi ,I will definately say my experience with both of my boys in DOC bands has been more "good" than "bad" or "ugly" As for the smell, there are ways of minimizing that...you can look up several old posts on here with great advice. And I have only had positive reactions from

ppl regarding the bands. I decorated them to look like lil football helmets and the reaction was always that they thought it was a cute lil helmet rather than a medical device...which made it so much easier.As for the torticollis, my son is older, so there are a lot of interactive things we do to stretch and advance his motor skills, but even at 5 mos there are fun lil games you can play. I used to give my son kisses (facing him out)on the "good side" of his neck which made him stretch to that side and then I would hold it for as long as he would let me. I never had to really get him upset, it's just a matter of finding what works. Luckily, he doesn't mind the pressure point release technique and I just set some toys in front of him and can work on the whole area pretty well. Also, we do the "ride a lil horsey" game on my knees and then make him fall to the side so he has to pull up with his bad side to strengthen

the affected area. My PT explained to me that because of the tort, his whole side was tightened from his head to his hips, so we work on abs and general long stretching on an exercise ball...this may also explain your daughter getting stuck...although both sides makes me uncertain and I'm no specialist, but I would definately ask about this, because we never experienced anything like that.I also wanted to mention that we started with a different therapist and she too was only giving me "passive" instructions for home, but our new PT (within the same practice) has been much more aggressive with treatment which I love...I hope this helps... Good luck to you, and trust that you will find this to be one of the best decisions you ever made..ShenelleKaty, TX> >> > Hello All,> > > > I'm new to this group and am SO glad I found it. My five month > old > > daughter is going in to receive her DOC band on Monday, and I'm > > really nervous about it. I was hoping some of you Mom's that have > > been through this can give me the good, the bad, and the ugly. > I've > > heard about the smell, so

I'm prepared for that, but what else > should > > I be prepared for? How will my daughter react? How will friends > and > > relatives react? How will strangers react?> > > > Also, I've read a few posts about PT for Torticollis. I've been > > taking my daughter for a couple of months, but have to admit that > I'm > > not thrilled with our Phyiscal Therapist. I come away thinking I > > didn't learn much. What types of exercises are you doing? Ours > has > > me doing mainly "passive" exercises -- in other words positioning > > toys such that she'll have to turn her head/neck a certain way to > see > > them. I'm supposed to be doing brief active exercises - where I > > actually stretch the neck, but I'm honestly not sure if I'm doing > it > > right... > > > > Finally, has anyone else experienced

your child getting "stuck" > > because of the torticollis? In other words, where they're kind of > > crooked in a "(" or ")" shape from head to toe? (Sorry for the > weak > > description.) My daughter has this happen about once a week -- > and > > IT SWITCHES SIDES -- sometimes she's stuck to the left, and > sometimes > > to the right. It's wierd.> > > > Thanks in advance for any help you can give me!!> > > > > >>

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