At the appointment, Kellyn was evaluated by a nurse practitioner and a physical therapist. The women put Kellyn in various positions and they had her demonstrate various motor skills. After they were done working with Kellyn, they took the time to explain their observations and provide recommendations.
 |
| Artisticco LLC © 123RF.com | artisticco |
Basically, they thought her torticollis presentation was pretty mild at this point. They felt that her torticollis was basically caused by a lack of strength in her left side of her neck. They didn't think it was a muscle tightness issue since Kellyn has good range of motion in her neck. The women thought the best thing we could do is to keep her in physical therapy like we have been doing. In fact, they felt that we could be going to physical therapy once per week at this point. They said physical therapy can be discontinued when her left side neck muscle strength matched her right side muscle strength. Basically, we could determine this by leaning her in the football hold in both directions and her being able to "right" her head to the same degree both ways. They also said as long as she is keeping her head at midline at least 60% of the time, we can consider her successfully treated. They explained that all people tilt their heads sometimes. In fact, they pointed out that both Ryan and I were tilting our heads at that very moment.
The physical therapist also showed us a few more strengthening exercises we could do with Kellyn. The women also felt confident that Kellyn would never need surgery or Botox. In addition, they also said that her torticollis was not neurological since her movements were so fluid. Phew! That was a relief to me. They seemed open to us continuing to use the kinesio tape if we thought it was helping. When I asked them about the TOT collar, they thought Kellyn was too young for it when I tried it about a month ago. They said I may have success using it on her when she's a little older. This makes sense considering her neck seemed too short for it to even fit properly before.
I had also asked them about using a pediatric chiropractor. The physical therapist shared that it can be helpful if its a muscle tightness issue that cannot be resolved through physical therapy. In regards to to facial asymmetry that torticollis causes, the physical therapist shared that the face and head are still actively growing in the first two years. Around the age of two, the face matures, baby fat starts to disappear, and the face appears much more symmetrical.
Overall, I was very pleased with the appointment. I was so happy that they considered her torticollis mild and that her prognosis seemed good. It also felt good to be assured that we were doing everything right in regards to treating her. At least, now I don't have to worry about whether or not she'll need Botox or surgery. If you live in the Washington DC area, I would highly recommend this Torticollis Clinic at Children's National Medical Center.
