Our Battle with Infant Torticollis and Plagiocephaly...

Aanya had Torticollis soon after she was born or should I say, when she was born. I don't know. Infant Torticollis is a tightness in neck muscle which causes the head to tilt to one side. And Congenital Torticollis is a condition that is present at birth or shortly after birth. As first time parents, we didnot notice her tilted head for a month. Infact, we didnot notice her tilted head at all. It was the flatness in the head ( known as plagiocephaly) that we noticed after a month. We realised, her head is not as round as it should be.

After a thorough checkup, the doctor told us, Aanya has TORTICOLLIS. What's that? My instant reaction. And how could she have developed that? I asked. The reason could be any of these;
prolonged labour, pelvis being too small and fetal head too big or the fetal dropped early into the pelvis. We were told. Because the child cannot turn the head to both sides(due to tightness in neck muscles) and prefer one side, the head eventually gets flat from behind.

We got referred to a Pediatric Plastic Surgeon.To start with, he advised repositioning. Basically how to position the baby during feeding, sleeping, eating and playing to help stimulate neck muscles. And along with it some stretch exercises which were to be performed about 3 times a day. This would take care of Torticollis and once its treated and the head moves in all directions, plagiocephaly will be gradually gone ( though only about 60 percent).  He suggested doing a helmet which would correct the deformed head by 90 percent. The choice was ours, if we wanted to get the helmet right away or wait untill few months to see the progress with physical therapy and if a helmet was really required by then. We were also referred to a physical therapist who would teach us, twice a month, more exercises for proper muscular and skeletal development.

To our relief, by the end of 6 months and after regular exercises, increased amounts of tummy times and repositioning, Aanya's stiff neck got better but unfortunately the plagiocephaly did not.

During that time, we did lot of research on helmets- to do or not to do. And we decided to do it. It was quite emotional. Googling the helmet casting pictures almost traumatized me. I felt I failed Aanya by making her go through all this. The orthotists though tried to make the casting process as fun and light hearted but the overall thought was quite heart wrenching. The day Aanya was to get her helmet, I was an emotional wreck. I still did not have peace with how I failed her. Parenting could be so hard some days.

Aanya got her helmet at 7 months and we were told she would wear it until she was a year old. We could not believe how quickly her head improved with the helmet. She got it on right before a couple of major growth spurts and within two weeks, we saw a noticeable difference. It got better with each passing week and by the end of 4 months, it was 90 percent corrected.

Now, 3 years after the helmet came off, I never think about any of this. I barely remember those helmet days and Aanys’s head looks perfect. I do get emotional looking back her pictures from her head casting, first fitting and all other helmet days. I’m so glad we made the choice we did to use the helmet. This is my favorite helmet picture, she was always so happy and never noticed her helmet.

Torticollis in infants maynot be prevented but it is treatable. If it is left untreated, it may lead to long term problems like permanent facial asymmetry and a muscle strength imbalance that directly affects baby's development.
If anyone wants to talk to me about this, I will be more than glad to discuss. I believe we're at our best when we give ourselves fully and courageously to one another and share our joys, struggles, and lessons learned along the path.

Torticollis in infants may not be prevented but it is very treatable. If the torticollis is left untreated it may lead to long term problems such as permanent facial asymmetry and a muscle strength imbalance that directly affects baby's development. - See more at: http://www.baby-safety-concerns.com/torticollis-treatment.html#untreated

Torticollis in infants may not be prevented but it is very treatable. If the torticollis is left untreated it may lead to long term problems such as permanent facial asymmetry and a muscle strength imbalance that directly affects baby's development. - See more at: http://www.baby-safety-concerns.com/torticollis-treatment.html#untreated

plagiocephalypla

also called wryneck, is a tightness in the neck muscle - See more at: http://www.baby-safety-concerns.com/infant-torticollis.html#sthash.ftnvLGX3.dpuf

also called wryneck, is a tightness in the neck muscle - See more at: http://www.baby-safety-concerns.com/infant-torticollis.html#sthash.ftnvLGX3.dpuf

also called wryneck, is a tightness in the neck muscle - See more at: http://www.baby-safety-concerns.com/infant-torticollis.html#sthash.ftnvLGX3.dpuf