What are the symptoms of a child's crooked neck?

In real life, some children are prone to crooked necks, which may be a manifestation of torticollis. Children with crooked necks tend to have their heads tilted to one side and are easily affected when turning their necks. As children grow older, the cervical spine will also be prone to certain injuries, requiring timely examination and treatment. Parents can usually urge correction.

If a child has a crooked neck, it may be torticollis. It is best for parents to take the child to the hospital for diagnosis. The main symptoms and signs of torticollis are as follows:

1. Torticollis: After the baby is born, the mother may find that the baby's head is tilted to the affected side, the face is rotated to the healthy side, and the lower jaw is pointing to the healthy shoulder. After 2 to 3 weeks, the torticollis becomes more obvious, and turning the head to the healthy side is significantly limited. Those with mild symptoms need careful observation to discover that this symptom becomes increasingly severe with the growth and development of the child.

2. Neck mass: A neck mass can usually be felt after birth or within 2 weeks after birth. It is located in the middle and lower part of the sternocleidomastoid muscle and is more common on the right side. This mass is fusiform and painless. It usually reaches its maximum size after 1 to 2 months, and then gradually shrinks until it disappears completely. In some of these children, the mass does not disappear and muscle fibrosis and contracture occur, causing torticollis deformity.

If congenital muscular torticollis is not effectively treated in the early stage, facial deformities will appear after the age of 2, mainly manifested by facial asymmetry, asymmetric distances from the outer corners of the eyes to the corners of the mouth, shortened distance on the affected side, longer distance on the healthy side, lowered plane of the eye position on the affected side, and because the two eyes are not on the same horizontal line, visual fatigue and decreased vision are likely to occur. The healthy side of the face is round and full, while the affected side is narrow and flat. Compensatory scoliosis may occur in the cervical spine. In addition, the entire face of the child, including the nose and ears, may also show asymmetric changes.

If parents find that their child has a crooked neck, no matter how severe the crooked neck is, parents should pay attention to it and take the child to the hospital for examination in the early stages of the disease. Once the diagnosis is confirmed, treatment should be started as soon as possible, otherwise it may affect the child's life. The earlier the treatment is started, the better. If the condition is not serious, conservative treatment can be used without surgery.