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.

Range of Motion Exercise #2

Here's another simple range of motion exercise we learned at physical therapy that helps increase Kellyn's range of motion towards her right side.  Its very common to have limited range of motion to one side with torticollis.  Please note that these exercises are for her limited range of motion of head towards the right side.  Both a video tutorial and written step-by-step instructions are included for your convenience.

Video Tutorial:

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.

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.

 

Football Hold Strengthening for Right Torticollis

This is a great exercise for Kellyn to work against gravity and strengthen her weak side of her neck muscles.  She also stretches the tight side of her trunk muscles during this exercise.  This is a great two-for-one exercise as it simultaneously works her neck and trunk muscles in different ways.  In this post, I'll include both a YouTube video demonstration AND step-by-step written instructions with a picture.  Please note that this exercise is for babies with right torticollis.

Video Tutorial:

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.

 

Stability Ball Strengthening for Right Torticollis

Since Kellyn's left neck and trunk muscles are both weak, this is a great two-for-one strengthening exercise for her.  This exercise looks so fun that my son Luke gets jealous when I do this with her.  The only way I can complete this exercise with Kellyn is if I promise that he gets a turn doing the ball exercise after her.  Just what I need...even more physical therapy exercises to do :) Anyways, here's a video tutorial AND step-by-step written instructions (with pictures) below.  This exercise is for babies with right torticollis.

Video Tutorial:

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.

Physical Therapy 4-week Evaluation

So today was a big day for us because it was Kellyn's 4-week evaluation at her outpatient physical therapy clinic.  Overall, it went pretty well.  Four weeks ago, Kellyn measured at about an eighteen degree tilt.  Today Kellyn was measuring at about a ten degree tilt.  So she is definitely tilting her head less.  The physical therapist also noticed improved strength in both her neck and trunk.  *Anna was also happy with how Kellyn's gross motor skills were progressing. She said that Kellyn has progressed faster than she expected in many areas.

Kellyn around the time of her four week physical therapy evaluation. 

Rolling Belly-to-Back (towards right side)

Kellyn could easily roll from belly-to-back towards her left side.  This makes sense since her trunk favors the left side.  She had a much harder time putting weight and pressure on her right side of her trunk.  Therefore, her PT really encourage us to work with her on rolling this way.

1.  Place Kellyn on her tummy and put a toy on her left side of her body.

2.  If possible, encourage her to reach her left hand up and out towards the toy.  Her head should tilt back as she looks up at the toy.

Kellyn's got some serious bed-head going on in this picture.

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.

Kellyn's Progress in Physical Therapy

So Kellyn has been in physical therapy now for about three weeks.  Overall, I think she is making good progress.  I have noticed that her right head tilt is not as pronounced as it previously was.  Also when I tilt her to her right, she is now able to pick her head up much easier than she used to.  So her neck muscles have definitely strengthened.  Her trunk is much less inclined to tilt to the left now too.  I think the lessening of her trunk tilt is a more dramatic improvement compared to her the decrease in her head tilt.

First PT Appointment with Early Intervention

Today was Kellyn's first physical therapy appointment with our state's early intervention program.  Her assigned physical therapist came to our home to work with Kellyn.  I am so excited how quickly we were able to get started with this program.  After having such a great experience with Luke in this program, I feel very confident that we will have great success with Kellyn in it as well.

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Basic Neck Stretch for Right Torticollis

This stretch will help Kellyn tilt her head in the opposite direction that she's inclined to lean.  It also helps her stretch her tight right neck muscles.  This is one of her least favorite stretches. Please note that she has right torticollis.

1.  Take your left hand and hold down her right shoulder.

2.  Take your right hand and very gently bring her left ear towards her left shoulder.

Football Carry Stretch for Right Torticollis

The football carry stretch exercise stretches the tight neck muscle on the right side of Kellyn's neck that contributes to her right torticollis.  In this post, I included both a YouTube video tutorial and written step-by-step instructions below.

Video Tutorial:

Torticollis Diagnosis

On Friday, Kellyn had her two big appointments with her pediatrician and her physical therapist.  Her pediatrician officially diagnosed her with torticollis.  Later that day, Kellyn had an initial evaluation with an outpatient physical therapist.  She confirmed the diagnosis, did some initial physical therapy exercises with Kellyn, and gave us a helpful flyer to take home that outlined her exercises with detailed descriptions and pictures.  I was so nervous about her initial physical therapy appointment that I brought along two sources of moral support: my husband and my mother :)  I felt less anxious with them by my side.

Feeling Scared

So it seemed like an eternity between the three days of waiting for her pediatrician and physical therapy appointment to get an official diagnosis of torticollis (which at this point, I was almost 100% that she had).  In the meantime, I started researching torticollis on the internet.  I learned about the condition of torticollis and various treatment options.  I scoured torticollis forums on BabyCenter to see what other parents' experiences were.

The one thing that stood out to me was that many babies were diagnosed with this as infants and had started physical therapy early on.  Now my daughter was almost seven months and that almost seemed late to be officially diagnosed and treated in the "torticollis world".  The more I learned about this condition, the more fear and guilt crept into my mommy conscience.  My poor daughter likely started showing signs of this condition around one or two months of age.   That means that I could have spent the last four or five months working with her to correct this problem.