Tuesday, October 1, 2013

Treating Torticollis with Alternative Medicine

So its been a little over a month of treating Kellyn's torticollis with physical therapy.  And she has certainly made progress, but she has not improved to the degree I would have expected considering how much time I spend daily working with her.  I truly believe that physical therapy is the best and most effective treatment for torticollis.  However, I am getting at the point where I would consider adding in some alternative medicine approaches to complement her physical therapy treatment plan.  If there is additional things I could be doing to help my daughter recover faster, I want to do them. 

I have heard of a variety of different alternative medical treatment approaches for torticollis.  Chiropractic, acupuncture, accupressure, massage therapy, osteopathy, cranial sacral therapy, and heat treatment have all been listed as various alternative methods of treating torticollis.  I have read numerous posts from parents who have had great success using several of these previously mentioned alternative medical approaches.  Each time I read about their experiences, I get excited about the possibility of my daughter also improving from these alternative treatments.

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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.  

Discovered Torticollis Clinic Nearby

Today, Kellyn had an appointment with her physical therapist from the early intervention program.  I am still so thrilled that she comes to our house for the appointment.  That makes it so much easier!  Anyways, her PT shared some extremely helpful information with me.  She told me about a torticollis clinic at Children's National Medical Center in Washington DC.  That's less than one hour away from us.  You better believe I was on the phone almost immediately scheduling an appointment there.