Showing posts with label baby. Show all posts
Showing posts with label baby. Show all posts

Monday, November 24, 2014

3 Exercises to Promote Indendent Standing

Standing is a building block skill that eventually leads to babies learning to walk.  And once baby masters walking, it's likely that the torticollis will improve.  This motivates me to do everything I can to help Kellyn master these skills.  In this tutorial below, I'm going to demonstrate three easy exercises that encourage independent standing.  These exercises should only be started when child exhibits the ability to bear weight on feet while being supported.  As always, please consult with your child's physical therapist before trying any of these exercises.

Video Tutorial




Monday, March 31, 2014

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.

Monday, February 3, 2014

Saturday, February 1, 2014

Range of Motion Exercise #3

Due to Kellyn's right torticollis, she has limited range of motion turning her head towards her right side.  This exercise will help increase her range of motion looking towards her right.  I like this exercise because I could sometimes get away with Kellyn not even realizing we're doing a torticollis exercise.   When babies are young, they often get pretty captivated by an interesting toy.  And since young babies are often too young to crawl, they can be pretty content just staying in one place and looking at something interesting.  Unfortunately, by the time your baby is mobile, this exercise may become near impossible to do since baby is unlikely to stay in one place for you.  I am including both a video demonstration and a written explanation of this exercise.

Video Tutorial:




Saturday, January 25, 2014

Toys to Use During PT Exercises

Most of us can probably agree that our babies don't enjoy their torticollis exercises.  When our babies get upset, we naturally feel upset too.  Thankfully, I finally discovered the key to getting through a good set of torticollis exercises is distracting your baby with some cool toys. The goal is to get your baby so involved with playing that they barely realize they are actually doing their exercises.  Also, make sure to only allow your baby to play with these special toys during torticollis exercises only.  If you leave the toys out so that your baby can play with them anytime, then the novelty of the toys wears off.  I can't promise that cool toys will make every exercise session perfect, but it certainly helps make the experience more bearable for everyone involved.

Sunday, January 19, 2014

Rolling Back-to-Belly

In addition to torticollis, Kellyn also had mild trunk curvature.  This trunk curvature made it difficult for her to roll onto her right side.  When she rolled, she usually favored rolling onto her left side.  Kellyn's physical therapist wanted her to become comfortable rolling to her less favored right side.  So here's how the exercise I do to help her become more comfy rolling onto her right side.  I have include both a video tutorial and a written tutorial below.  Please note that the written tutorial offers a bit more hands-on guidance and support for your baby doing the roll.  The video offers less hands-on support and is geared more for babies who can roll independently with a little extra encouragement.

Video Tutorial:




Wednesday, January 15, 2014

Side Lying Stretch

I started doing this torticollis exercise once my daughter became too mobile and wiggly for the side lying stretch using the Boppy pillow . This version of the neck stretch seems to work much better for her now.  Below is my video demo of this torticollis stretch. I have also included step-by-step written directions for this exercise.  Please note this stretch is designed for the right sided torticollis.

Video Tutorial:




Saturday, November 30, 2013

PT Re-Evaluation #2 Update

Kellyn had another outpatient physical therapy re-evaluation for her torticollis and it went really well!  She's nine months old and has been in physical therapy now for three months.  So basically 1/3 of her little life here in this world has been in physical therapy.  Considering the various things she's been through since birth (esophagus surgery, NICU stay, X-rays, numerous doctor's appointments, and physical therapy), she is one tough little cookie.  Anyways, check out my video update on the outcome of this re-evaluation.

Wednesday, November 20, 2013

How to Use the TOT Collar for Torticollis

When I first bought the TOT collar for my baby's torticollis, I remember scouring the internet for video tutorials on how to use the TOT collar.  Unfortunately, I was unable to find one.  Therefore, I decided to put together this video to help other parents who are new to using the TOT collar.  This video explains how I fit and apply the TOT collar to my daughter's neck to treat her torticollis.  For those unfamiliar with the TOT Collar, it is a device that goes around the child's neck and limits their ability to tilt their head to their preferred side.  For more info, you may first want to check out my video demo and review of this product.



Monday, November 11, 2013

Last Chiropractic Appointment for Torticollis

So today was Kellyn's third and final chiropractic adjustment.  I don't necessarily think its what the chiropractor would have recommended, but that's what my husband wanted.  He was never super comfortable with the idea of Kellyn going in the first place.  And Kellyn's torticollis is doing pretty well lately, so he figured it was not worth the small risk of something potentially bad happening from the adjustment.  And I'm fine with this decision.  I plan to watch her over the next few weeks to make sure she doesn't experience any big regressions.  I also want to make sure that her improvement continues on in an upward trend.  If we notice Kellyn's torticollis worsening, Ryan and I will discuss whether or not we want to start back up with chiropractic.

Baby girl in carseat playing with a toy
My beautiful baby girl bundled up and ready to go to the chiropractor.

Friday, October 25, 2013

1st Chiropractic Adjustment for Torticollis

As I mentioned before, Ryan and I have been considering supplementing Kellyn's physical therapy with chiropractic treatment. Before Kellyn got diagnosed with torticollis, I would have never imagined I would be taking my baby to a chiropractor. However, torticollis is a stubborn little condition that improves very gradually. So, after two months straight of daily physical therapy exercises, I was ready to take it up a notch. After hearing such awesome reviews about chiropractic from other "tort parents", I started wondering if perhaps it could work for Kellyn. After praying, researching, watching YouTube videos of pediatric adjustments, and having a consultation with the chiropractor, we finally felt comfortable scheduling the chiropractic appointment for Kellyn.

Baby with right torticollis sitting down on floor
Kellyn's torticollis presentation one day after her first chiropractic adjustment.

Thursday, October 24, 2013

Supported Crawling Position

You may be wondering, 'Why are you concerned about crawling? Shouldn't you be working on torticollis-specific exercises?'. By encouraging Kellyn to learn to crawl, I am indirectly treating her torticollis. Once she starts to crawl, she will hopefully be less likely to tilt her head. Before a baby crawls, she obviously needs to first be comfortable on all four's. This exercise focuses on becoming comfortable on hands and knees, which is a precursor to crawling. Below I have a video tutorial and written step-by-step instructions to show you this simple exercise.

Video Tutorial:



Tuesday, October 22, 2013

Consultation with Chiropractor

We recently had a consultation with a chiropractor who has experience working with babies and children.  She came highly recommended to us by our daughter's outpatient physical therapist.  My husband and I have been considering supplementing Kellyn's PT with chiropractic since we have heard a lot of positive feedback from other parents of babies with torticollis.

illustration of human spine with two leaves
Gloria Rosazza © 123RF.com | glopphy

Thursday, October 17, 2013

Kinesio Tape Removal

Kellyn has had the Kinesio Tape on the affected side of her neck for about four days. As I mentioned, I did not feel this first application technique we tried made a noticeable difference. However, I do not want to give up on it yet, as there are a few other application techniques we could potentially try. Ryan and I decided to remove the Kinesio Tape today since she had her big appointment at the Torticollis Clinic at Children's National Medical Center coming up. We wanted the clinic to see her torticollis in its "natural state" without any potential aiding from the tape.

Tuesday, October 15, 2013

Stretches Possibly Worsening Torticollis

Kellyn's outpatient physical therapist made an astute perception about Kellyn's torticollis at her physical therapy session last week.  She noticed that Kellyn was resisting frequently during her neck stretches.  The physical therapist said I should not stretch Kellyn if she is resisting because I could indirectly be strengthening the right neck muscle that is overactive.

Baby having her mother do a physical therapy stretch to treat her right torticollis.
These were the good ol' days when Kellyn was much more compliant with her torticollis stretches.
Amazing, how much can change within a few weeks time.
 

Friday, October 11, 2013

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.

Baby with mild case of right torticollis
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.
 

Saturday, October 5, 2013

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.

Baby with kinesio tape on her shoulder to help treat her right torticollis

Thursday, October 3, 2013

Torticollis Clinic Appt. Moved Up & Chiropractic Consultation Scheduled

I have great news! Our torticollis clinic appointment at Children's National Hospital got moved up by three weeks. I believe there was a cancellation, so Kellyn was able to get that appointment. I know that this is a great blessing from God. He certainly knows how anxious I am to get Kellyn seen by these specialists.

image of a patient having a chiropractic appointment
John Takai © 123RF.com | cteconsulting

Wednesday, October 2, 2013

Tilt Regression

Disappointment and frustration are starting to creep up on me again.  I felt like Kellyn's four-week physical therapy evaluation went so well and that she was improving.  I thought it was going to be a continuous improvement from there on out.  But recently, it looks like her torticollis got worse.  She seems to be tilting her head more and doing this more frequently.  And she seems to be more resistant to me stretching her neck in the opposite direction.  It's like her neck is completely stubborn and doesn't want to change.

Baby sitting down with right torticollis
I don't think Kellyn was too happy about getting her picture taken here.

Monday, September 30, 2013

Overwhelmed with the Treatment Process

The past couple weeks has been pretty hectic for our family.   Ryan's back has been really bothering him and he is pretty limited to how he can help with the kids or with housework.  Unfortunately, he is now unable to help me get Kellyn's in-home exercises done, so its solely up to me to make sure this gets done.  Also, we have been spending a lot of time researching and shopping around for a new car since our car got totaled from the car accident two weeks ago.  In addition, we have also had so many things like doctor's appointments and various commitments to go to.  

With so much going on, its been tricky to get in the recommended minimum of five sets of physical therapy in-home exercises for Kellyn.  I feel that Kellyn's head tilt has gotten worse recently because I haven't been working with her as frequently at home.  Regardless of what else is going on, I need to remind myself daily to make her in-home exercises a priority.  Most days, I find it unrealistic to get all five sets of her exercises done, while also attending to daily household responsibilities and taking care of my family's needs.  Each day, I feel like I can't win no matter how hard I try.