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Home › Articles › Illnesses, Diseases & Disorders › Congenital Muscular Torticollis

Congenital Muscular Torticollis

How Much Do You Know About This Musculoskeletal Anomaly?

By Lisa A. Goldstein

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Treating Torticollis
Treatment consists of physical therapy and an at-home therapy program with the family doing stretches on the infant several times a day. Some are to stretch out the injured muscle, and some are to strengthen the opposite muscle, Everett says. Therapy can last anywhere from three months to several years depending on the severity of the tilt and the age at which the infant started therapy.

"With this condition, early diagnosis and early treatments have a huge impact on how long the treatment will be," Everett says. "Generally if an infant has stopped making progress with therapy and has been in therapy over a year, a decision to surgically lengthen the muscle may be needed. [However,] surgery should never be considered as long as the infant is making progress."

Treatment requires an adjustment on Baby's part. "When a baby is born, they are used to the tilting," Everett says. "It feels natural to them. It's all they know. So when you start doing the stretching, infants may cry or become upset. It is not painful to do them; they just aren't used to it and it takes them out of a comfort zone."

NITA always recommends doing massages before the stretches to soothe and relax the infant. Some parents have found they're able to do the stretches when their child is asleep. Most infants will relax as the parent doing the stretches relaxes.

Volchok, whose son's torticollis is gone for good, cautions not to let a diagnosis of torticollis overwhelm you. She says to push your pediatrician to react sooner rather than later if you think there is a problem.

And don't give up, Everett says. A physical therapist will see you once a week or every other week, but in the meantime, it's up to you. "You [literally] hold your child's future in your hands, "she says. "What kind of future do you want it to be?"

Tips for Tummy Time

Everyone knows that tummy time for babies is important. But what you may not know is that it's very important for a baby with torticollis because it develops neck muscle control and offsets the likelihood that they will develop a flat head, says the National Infant Torticollis Association (NITA).

To help make tummy time easier for your baby to enjoy, take baby steps, the NITA says. Try it for just a few minutes several times during the day. Lie down on the floor in front of your baby so you're at eye level. Have toys handy to distract your baby to make the time fly by. And if today was a bad day for tummy time, don't give up. Try again tomorrow!


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