Treatment of torticollis in children

Torticollis in children takes a longer time to be treated. There are muscle-edge torticollis and bone-induced torticollis. During this period, we must seize the best time for treatment. Because the children are relatively young, it is easier to correct. If the best treatment time is missed, it will often affect the children's future life and work. Parents must pay attention to this aspect. Below we briefly introduce the treatment methods for torticollis in children.

Treatment of torticollis in children

Mothers who understand infantile torticollis know that it can be corrected as long as it is discovered in time. So, what are the methods to correct torticollis in babies?

First of all, mothers should go to the hospital to diagnose the cause of the disease and not jump to conclusions on their own. Because although contracture of the sternocleidomastoid muscle is the most common cause of torticollis, there are still many other causes that can cause torticollis. It is especially important to note that these rarer causes often hide greater dangers.

If it is myogenic torticollis, rehabilitation treatment is usually used at the beginning. Stretching is used to tilt the head toward the healthy side, gradually stretching the contracted sternocleidomastoid muscle. The baby's living environment also needs some adjustments to induce the baby to turn his neck automatically and spontaneously. For example, you can put the baby's toy on his upper right side. When the baby wants to look at the toy, he must tilt his head to the left and his chin to the right. This can also achieve the stretching effect.

If the baby has osseous torticollis, whether he or she can receive rehabilitation treatment is generally determined based on the degree of deformation of the bone joints. Some infants with unstable cervical spine may easily suffer damage to the cervical nerves if they rashly undergo rehabilitation and stretching treatment. If it is neurogenic torticollis or torticollis caused by infection, you can first use medication to treat it. If the effect is not good, surgical treatment must be considered.

In addition, for the very few children who do not improve after physical therapy, the surgeon will consider surgically cutting the tight sternocleidomastoid muscle on the shorter side of the neck to achieve the purpose of muscle stretching.

The best treatment period for infantile torticollis

Although torticollis in infants is generally easy to correct, it must be treated at the best time to be corrected in time, otherwise it will cause trouble to the baby's future. So, when is the best treatment period for infantile torticollis?

Torticollis in children is a relatively common congenital disease of the head and neck in children. If treated correctly and effectively in the early stages, most children can be completely cured. Infantile torticollis is often divided into myogenic torticollis and osteogenic torticollis. The treatment of muscular torticollis is time-sensitive, so the golden time for treatment must be grasped. Because the baby is in a period of rapid growth and development, all organs are constantly growing and changing. If this deviation persists for more than 3 to 4 weeks, it can lead to unbalanced facial development.

For patients as young as two months old, conservative treatments such as massaging the affected side and head stretching exercises can usually produce good results, usually with an 85% cure rate within one year. The duration of treatment will vary depending on the age at which treatment is initiated and the degree of muscle shortening.

If the baby is older than one year old, the rotation of the neck on the affected side is less than 30 degrees compared to the healthy side, and the two sides of the face are asymmetrical in size, rehabilitation exercise therapy will be difficult to be effective, and surgery may be necessary to achieve good results. It can be seen that early discovery by parents may allow the baby to avoid surgery, and the younger the baby, the higher the chance of recovery. For older patients, there should be no delay and they should receive surgical treatment as early as possible. Generally speaking, it is best to perform the surgery before the age of five so that the facial asymmetry can be better reshaped and restored.