{"id":1108,"date":"2013-07-18T10:20:42","date_gmt":"2013-07-18T14:20:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/veipd.org\/earlyintervention\/?p=1108"},"modified":"2020-06-25T02:21:20","modified_gmt":"2020-06-25T02:21:20","slug":"strategies-for-working-with-children-with-torticollis","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.veipd.org\/earlyintervention\/2013\/07\/18\/strategies-for-working-with-children-with-torticollis\/","title":{"rendered":"Strategies for Working with Children with Torticollis"},"content":{"rendered":"

What Does the Research Tell Us?\"Mom<\/a><\/strong><\/h2>\n

Physical therapy and helmet treatment are considered the conservative strategies for positional torticollis, congenital muscular torticollis, and deformational plagiocephaly.1<\/sup>\u00a0 Retrospective and prospective studies of conservative measures have reported, \u201cgood to excellent results, with success rates ranging from 61% to 99% when intervention was initiated before one year of age.\u201d(p.370)2<\/sup>\u00a0\u00a0 Ellen Brennan, PT, DPT, physical therapist, Children\u2019s Specialized Hospital stated, \u201csuccessful intervention for the child with torticollis is fully dependent on how successful the caregivers are in integrating treatment strategies into the child\u2019s daily routine.\u201d3<\/sup><\/p>\n

Strategies for Stretching the Infant with Torticollis<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Most of the infants I work with don’t like the stretches for torticollis, not because\u00a0it causes them discomfort, but because they do not like being restrained.\u00a0 If I can make the stretches and exercises more tolerable for the infant, then the\u00a0likelihood that the caregivers will be successful with the exercise program will increase.\u00a0 Below are some simple strategies to incorporate into an infant with torticollis\u2019s daily routine.<\/p>\n

If you are not a physical therapist, you can still help families implement these stretches but be sure that a PT shows you how to do them with the child and family first!<\/p>\n

Rotation stretch: <\/strong>When holding the infant\u2019s shoulder down and gently rotating the infant\u2019s head all the way to one side until the chin is over the shoulder, encourage the infant to look to that side by:<\/p>\n

    \n
  • Having a caregiver, peer or sibling play peek-a-boo<\/li>\n
  • Activate a musical toy<\/li>\n
  • Look at themselves in a safety mirror<\/li>\n
  • Reach for a household pet<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    Side-bend stretch: <\/strong>When holding the infant\u2019s shoulder down and gently, but firmly, side-bend the infant\u2019s ear to the same shoulder, encourage the infant to maintain this position by encouraging the caregiver to:<\/p>\n

      \n
    • Blow \u201craspberries\u201d on the side of the neck that is being stretched<\/li>\n
    • Give \u201cEskimo\u201d kisses to their infant\u2019s nose<\/li>\n
    • Kiss the baby on the side of the neck that is being stretched<\/li>\n
    • Chat with the infant<\/li>\n
    • Sing songs so that the infant watches the caregiver\u2019s face<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

      Here\u2019s a video illustrating both of these stretches:<\/p>\n