Hey Mamas!
I told my friend about all of the great advice and stories you guys shared about my babies flat head, and she asked me to post a question about her baby.
She has a 8 month old that has been diagnosed with Torticollis. His head tilts really bad to the side. She went to see the neurologist yesterday and he recommended surgery :( Her and her husband do not want to do the surgery, especially since they heard that it would not fix the problem completely.
We were searching on the internet and found a Torticollis Collar that could fit as small as a 4 month old, but she says that no one has told them anything about it. We were wondering if anybody has experience with using it instead of surgery, and if you have any advice on based on your experience with your baby. They are worried about when he gets older that other kids will bully him because he will have a tilt :(
I appreciate any help you can give my friend!!!
Edit: they have been doing physical therapy for about 3 months. The neurologist recommends surgery because there hasn't been any improvement from the physical therapy.
Thank you for all of the suggestions...she is trying to make appointments with the people you mamas suggested (she has to make sure they are in her network, and deciding if it would be worth the cost to use them even if they are not in her network). She appreciates all of the suggestions and encouragement away from surgery. And she will be signing up to be a member because she really likes all of the support ;) Thanks again!
You could try taking him to a pediatric chiropractor. I have heard really good things about Dr. Amber Brooks. She is located in Addison. www.mychildwellness.com. My nephew goes there.
I would do chiropractic and PT for torticollis, shouldn't need a collar, and definitely not surgery!
I really don't know anything about torticollis in infants, but I have had experience with it as an adult. We think that we tracked it down to a shoulder injury which caused my neck muscles to spasm and tighten. I went to a chiropractor and he gave me exercises which helped, but I suffered from it on and off for thirteen years. What I can tell you is that for me it was excruciatingly painful. It brought me to tears and the only medicine that was strong enough to help put me straight to sleep. When I woke up, the pain was still there. It upsets me to think of a baby going through that kind of pain. So for me, bullying is not the primary worry - it is the physical pain that child is enduring.
Hi there.
My son also was diagnosed with torticollis @ 3 months of age. We immediately began Physical Therapy going 1x per week for an hour. Because of the torticollis, he was laying on 1 side of his head which became flat as a board. Luckily, our pediatrician was very aggresive with treatment, and my son was fitted for a helment @ 4 months of age (still fighting the insurance company for payment.... ugh...)
He wore the helmet for 5 months ( head shape is almost round now) and we are still continuing with the physical therapy until he begins walking (he's 16 months now).
I guess what I'm trying to say is, as a parent you are the best advocate for your child. Get more than one opinion/diagnosis from the doctors. Please don't substiute information you find on the internet from a doctors recommendation. Surgery sounds extreme, but of course I don't understand the scope of the childs condition. Physical therapy has worked wonders for us, and it hasn't been an easy road. We went through a few different physical therapists until I found one that specialized in torticollis.
Good luck !
I would NOT do surgery. Continue physical therapy, have parents be strict with positioning baby, and I would try the collar.
I am also a PT and have seen quite a bit of torticollis. It can be very difficult to tx. I have not personally used the collar you refer to, but a colleague of mine has used it and felt like it did a pretty good job. However, it only helps the tilt component of torticollis not the rotational component, so if he rotates or turns his head at all, then it won't help that part. Also, torticollis will generally resolve eventually (you don't see adults walking around with a head tilt), but the big concern is how it causes the head to mal-form. I think the collar is a good thing to try. Also, look into kinesiotaping. I have had a lot of success with taping the neck and it's very easy to do. I would also try to avoid surgery if possible.
my son has not personally used it...
i see you said they went to a neurologist..have they tried physical therapy? my son's was BAD, i mean, BAD. he didn't get into therapy until 8 months..
http://i883.photobucket.com/albums/ac32/rjsmommy10/why.jpg
that's him at 2ish months...you can see how bad it is :(
http://a2.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/262080_180...
him on his 1st bday..you can see he still has it a little, but it's sooooo much better.
surgery for that is rare...
and hopefully it doesn't need it nor will it persist if you should do therapy....it can cause lots of problems with vision.. anyhow, i hope someone else has tried it to give you some insight...
(are they in our area too? my son goes to cook children's for his therapy & would recommend them!)
Both my girls had torticollis and both did physical therapy. My oldest did it once a week for about a year. And my youngest only did it for about 4 months, it wasn't as bad. Physical therapy is for sure the way to go, it works!!!
PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE listen to me. PLEASE call Sally Fryer. She owns Integrative Pediatric Therapy. She is a craniosacral therapist and she CAN fix torticollis. Believe me I was a skeptic too but I saw it with my own eyes!!! NO SURGERY! She is brilliant and she knows what she is doing.
She worked on the conjoined twins that were on the news and the news covered her and what she can do.
http://www.integrativepediatric.com/
L.
