Torticollis Update (or Lack Thereof) Pictures

Kellyn has recently turned three-years-old and I am happy to share that she no longer has torticollis.  She hasn't had it for quite some time now. When she first received her torticollis diagnosis, I recall frantically scouring the internet looking for pictures of older children who had been previously treated for torticollis. I wanted to see if they fully recovered or if their stubborn head tilt always persisted. And I wanted to see if any torticollis-induced facial asymmetries had gone away.  If you are a parent starting this torticollis treatment journey, I hope these pictures of my daughter give you hope.  Kellyn keeps her head up straight and her face is symmetrical. You would never know she had torticollis. Going to physical therapy and regularly doing the exercises at home really works.  Believe me, I know torticollis treatment is a long and frustrating journey, but it's so worth it. We are grateful to God for such a great outcome.

Always love a perfectly midline picture.

Chiropractic Round 3 for Torticollis: Progress Pictures

Based on the results of the thermal scans, Kellyn's third round of chiropractic adjustments reduced a significant amount of nerve compression. Although encouraging news, I remind myself of the original reason I sought out chiropractic in the first place: torticollis. So the real question is whether or not the adjustments improved her mild (yet so stubborn) torticollis. Its tricky to assess for myself, as her torticollis presentation over the past few months is mild, subtle, and fleeting. One moment she's significantly tilting her head, the next moment her head is perfectly midline. Even by the time I grab my camera to snap a pic of her tilting, the tilt will disappear that fast. Anyways, here are some pictures of Kellyn at the beginning and end of chiropractic round 3.

After 1st Adjustment of Chiropractic Round 3 (9/05/2014):

Head tilt not too visible here

Early Signs of Torticollis

Kellyn was officially diagnosed with torticollis at seven months.  Unfortunately, she was showing signs of this condition well before that.  If I had known what to look for, I could have had her diagnosed way earlier and her condition would have been much easier to correct.  Torticollis treated before four months has the best prognosis.  That's why its so important for new parents to be mindful of the signs and symptoms of torticollis, so that they can catch it and correct it as fast as possible.

At the time, I never thought anything of her head tilt.

Torticollis Pictures: 7 months of PT

It's crazy to think that Kellyn has been doing physical therapy for her torticollis for almost seven months.  That's equates to almost half of her life considering she'll be 14 months in a little over a week.  I feel like her torticollis progress has plateaued over the past few months.  In my opinion, the head tilt doesn't look more pronounced, but it also doesn't look much better than it did a few months ago.  That's a little frustrating to me since I dedicate a good chunk of time daily to her torticollis exercises.  I just want to know that the hard work I'm putting in is actually making a difference.  On a positive note, her motor skills are continually progressing.  Over the past few weeks, she went from taking a couple steps to taking several steps. We still have tons of spills and I would not officially qualify her as a walker yet, but she's certainly on her way.  Anyways, check out her progress pictures below.

Pretty accurate representation of her current head tilt. Happy about her great progress
since the beginning, but frustrated that progress plateaued in the past few months

Tilt Regression (Milestone & Illness-Related)

Unfortunately, Kellyn has had a cold, congestion, and wheezing for the past few weeks. In addition, she's had a slight head tilt regression, which is a little disheartening. However, there is a silver lining to this torticollis regression. I think its largely attributed to her progression with her developmental milestones.  Just in time for her upcoming first birthday in exactly one week's time!

So excited that Kellyn finally learned to crawl on hands and knees!Huge milestone for her.

Torticollis Pictures: 20 weeks of PT

So my daughter has been in physical therapy for her torticollis for twenty weeks (over four months). In comparison with the last set of pictures posted after eleven weeks of PT, I think there has been a very subtle improvement in her torticollis. I think she's holding her head a bit more midline and her range of motion to the right has improved slightly. Her trunk seems more straight and her facial symmetry is continuing to look great.

Caught a moment of her keeping her head midline.

Torticollis Pictures: 11 Weeks of PT

So it's about that time again when I post Kellyn's progress pictures from physical therapy for her torticollis.  Comparing to her six week pictures, I would say she has improved tremendously.  Now keep in mind though that her six week pictures were taken on a day that she was having a "bad torticollis day".  Even still, I notice a great improvement overall as compared to when she first started physical therapy.

Her right head tilt is negligible in this picture,
and her right neck depression looks much less noticeable.

Seven Weeks into Physical Therapy

So here are some pictures seven weeks into physical therapy. Although Kellyn has had some plateaus and regressions since her four week pictures, today happened to be a "good torticollis day." I knew I had to capture it on camera. Basically, Kellyn was holding her head at mid line a lot more frequently than usual. In addition, she was not raising her right shoulder as much as she normally does.

Since she's looking straight ahead, her head tilt is less noticeable here.
Although she still has a slight C-shaped curvature in her trunk,
it's improved dramatically since the beginning of PT.

 

Six Weeks of PT

So I'm not as excited about these six week pictures as I was about the four week pictures.  As you can see her torticollis looks worse in these pictures than it did just a couple of weeks prior.  Her tilt has likely worsened because she is teething.

Four Weeks into Physical Therapy

Here are some updated pictures of Kellyn after four weeks of physical therapy.  Her left trunk tilt is much less pronounced and her right head tilt has decreased some, as well.  Her physical therapist noticed that she tilts her head more when she is looking down.  Kellyn is more inclined to keep her head straight when she is looking straight ahead or laying down on her back.  What you won't be able to see in these pictures is how much stronger she is getting at doing her strengthening exercises.  She has also had amazing progress in her motor skill progression.  In addition, I believe her facial symmetry is improving.  I am very pleased with her progress so far.

She holds her head up much more straight when she is looking straight ahead.

Before Pictures

Here are some pictures of Kellyn before or at the beginning of physical therapy.  Her physical therapist suggested we take pictures of Kellyn regularly.  That way, I can track her progress since its hard to notice the changes since I'm with her all the time.  I'm trying to see if her neck and trunk straighten up and her slight facial asymmetries resulting from the torticollis resolve themselves over time.

 This is the back view of her head tilt at approximately 1 week into physical therapy.