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.

My beautiful baby girl bundled up and ready to go to the chiropractor.

Kinesio Tape for Torticollis: Round 2

So Kellyn's first application of Kinesio Tape did not seem to improve her torticollis.  It was applied to the affected side of her neck (the side she tilts to) and in a method to encourage muscle relaxation.  After taking a little over a week break from the Kinesio Tape, our physical therapist from the early intervention program tried a different technique on Kellyn.  She applied the tape to the unaffected side of her neck to encourage muscle facilitation.  This makes sense since the unaffected side of Kellyn's neck has weaker muscles.

This is the second application of Kinesio Tape on her neck for torticollis.

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.

Kinesio Taping for Torticollis

So yesterday, I took Kellyn to a chiropractor who happens to be a Certified Kinesio Taping Practitioner (CKTP).  The chiropractor did a brief evaluation of Kellyn, asked about medical history, and then got started with Kinesio Taping. 

The process was pretty quick and simple.  She basically used three small pieces of Kinesio Tape on her neck area.  She taped her on the side of her neck that she tends to tilt.  The method she used should encourage muscle inhibition.  This makes sense because Kellyn's right side of her neck has tight, overactive muscles.  She explained to me that there are a few different methods to try.  She said we can give this method a few days to evaluate whether or not it worked.  If it doesn't work, we can try the other alternative ways.

If you look closely, you can see the beige colored Kinesio Tape on her neck area.