Torticollis

Torticollis.  What a weird and mysterious name.  It's scary enough to have your baby diagnosed with anything beyond the common cold, let alone having the diagnosis sound like one of the scary diseases that you could contract and die from in the Oregon Trail computer game.

My daughter has right torticollis

Thankfully, torticollis is not as scary as it sounds.  Your child won't die from it.  In fact, it is usually treatable without any medicine or surgical intervention.  According to BabyCenter, torticollis is a condition in which the head is tilted to one side, while the chin is turned in the opposite direction.  Babies with torticollis typically have limited range of motion in their necks.  There are two types of torticollus: congenital and acquired.  Congenital torticollis is simply an infant who is born with the condition.  Oftentimes, it occurs due to the positioning in the womb or during a long and/or difficult delivery.  In contrast, acquired torticollis occurs after the baby is born and usually results from sleeping in a certain position or an injury (source: BabyCenter).

Typically, the muscles on the side of the neck with the tilt are tight and shortened.  In contrast, the muscles on the side opposite of the tilt are typically weak and lengthened.  Thus, in order to treat this condition, the tight muscles on one side need to be stretched, while the weak muscles on the other side need to be strengthened.  If caught early, torticollis can usually be treated effectively with physical therapy.  Depending on how early it is discovered and how severe the tilt and range of motion limits are will all determine the length of the physical therapy program.  I just scratched the surface in my explanation of torticollis. 

So what happens if your baby is left untreated with this condition?  First of all, babies can develop plagiocephaly, which causes the head to develop asymmetrically into a parallelogram shape.  On the back of their head, there will be one side that is flattened.  Typically the flat spot develops on the one side of the head that they tend to put more pressure on while laying down.  Furthermore, torticollis may cause facial asymmetries.  Eye, cheek, mouth, ear, and jawline are all common areas where asymmetries can occur. In addition, motor skills can be delayed because their musculature is unevenly developing.  One side of their neck and upper body may be weaker which can lead to difficulties accomplishing gross motor skills.  Even if your baby is on target with his gross motor skills, you may find that he can only roll in one direction verses both ways. 

Before starting physical therapy, it is very important to have your child examined by your pediatrician and officially diagnosed.  Sometimes conditions that look like torticollis can actually be another diagnosis that is more serious.  And these conditions could actually be worsened by physical therapy.  Thus, it is important to have a trained medical professional make the evaluation for you.  If you are interested in more torticollus details, I would suggest reading this full BabyCenter article on the topic.