What is Torticollis?

What is Torticollis?

Tor­ti­col­lis is when a child will have a pref­er­ence to tip their head one way and rotate it the oth­er way. It is a con­di­tion that is caused by a tight­en­ing of the neck mus­cle and is usu­al­ly relat­ed to the child’s posi­tion in utero.

Tor­ti­col­lis is often asso­ci­at­ed with oth­er diag­noses such as pla­gio­cephaly, which is a flat spot on the back of a child’s head, or it can be in com­bi­na­tion with feed­ing dif­fi­cul­ties. Tor­ti­col­lis can also be relat­ed to trunk tight­ness caus­ing a child to want to rotate the hips one way and their shoul­ders in the oppo­site direction.

How do you treat Torticollis?

There are sev­er­al ways to treat tor­ti­col­lis, includ­ing myofas­cial release, stretch­ing, strength­en­ing and improv­ing body aware­ness. Oth­er treat­ments may include a refer­ral to oth­er providers such as an ortho­tist, a head shap­ing eval, or a feed­ing therapist.

Ear­ly refer­ral and inter­ven­tion are best. Please watch the video below for ways you can screen your child.

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If you have con­cerns about your baby hav­ing tor­ti­col­lis, con­tact your pri­ma­ry care physi­cian and ask for a refer­ral to phys­i­cal ther­a­py. If you need help estab­lish­ing a pri­ma­ry care physi­cian please call us at (217)222‑6550.

Sam Wil­son is a Pedi­atric Ther­a­pist at Quin­cy Med­ical Group.