mild torticollis diagnosed too late

[Guest guest]

greetings, all, I'm a new member and I'm hoping to connect with

someone who may have experienced something like we have.

one of my twins, now almost 20 months old, has a very mild case of

torticollis -- which wasn't diagnosed until 16 months, well after his

skull took final form. we started physical therapy then, but were told

the shape of his head and face wouldn't change beyond this point. the

effects are barely perceptible, but I'm concerned there are other

issues we should be looking into.

an orthopedist checked him out and saw that he had full range of

movement and no developmental delays -- basically telling us not to

worry about it.

but now that more of my son's teeth have come in I'm wondering if his

jaw is out of line somehow (tooth seems crooked). We've been reassured

all over the place, but I don't trust this attitude anymore since it's

how we got here in the first place (many times we'd pointed out our

son's flat head as an infant, and our pediatrician never even

mentioned the word torticollis, assuring us his head would round out

on its own).

I almost wish his torticollis had been more pronounced, so our

pediatrician would have recognized the condition and we could have

treated it early. now that we're looking at permanent effects, I'm

wondering what those effects might be.

can anyone relate?

mom to Luca and

[Guest guest]

I am unsure what you mean by perminent affects, the tort is not going to stay with your child if you start pt and work on it. They also have an opperation where they can cut a small piece of the muscle to allow for a greater range of motion. The head shape may be the only thing that will stay since it is so late in the game. The tort however will get better with pt once a week and daily exercises for tort at home. Good luck and keep us posted. Get to a PT pronto!!! Start the treatment and stick with it. I have heard of untreated toddlers with tort being made fun by classmates when they hit the primary grades for bending funny. Just being honest, Tammy

From: lisakay11218 <lisakay11218@...>Subject: mild torticollis diagnosed too latePlagiocephaly Date: Sunday, May 25, 2008, 5:07 PM

greetings, all, I'm a new member and I'm hoping to connect withsomeone who may have experienced something like we have.one of my twins, now almost 20 months old, has a very mild case oftorticollis -- which wasn't diagnosed until 16 months, well after hisskull took final form. we started physical therapy then, but were toldthe shape of his head and face wouldn't change beyond this point. theeffects are barely perceptible, but I'm concerned there are otherissues we should be looking into.an orthopedist checked him out and saw that he had full range ofmovement and no developmental delays -- basically telling us not toworry about it. but now that more of my son's teeth have come in I'm wondering if hisjaw is out of line somehow (tooth seems crooked). We've been reassuredall over the place, but I don't trust this attitude anymore since it'show we got here in the first place (many times

we'd pointed out ourson's flat head as an infant, and our pediatrician never evenmentioned the word torticollis, assuring us his head would round outon its own).I almost wish his torticollis had been more pronounced, so ourpediatrician would have recognized the condition and we could havetreated it early. now that we're looking at permanent effects, I'mwondering what those effects might be.can anyone relate? mom to Luca and

[Guest guest]

It sounds like from what the orthopedist said, his torticollis has

been resolved? Or am I misunderstanding the situation? I am also

confused by whether you're more concerned with the tort or the head

shape? Are you still considering the possibility of getting a helmet

for your son? I'm sorry I have so many questions, but I'm just

looking for a little clarity. But in the meantime, I can share my

experience.

My son had tort but it was diagnosed very early, at his 2m checkup.

It was resolved by the time he was 5 months old, but his head was

very misshapen and we were told over and over that it would round

out on its. However, his head shape only corrected slightly and we

got him a DOCBand when he was 17 months old. It has made a

difference and if you're considering banding, I would highly

recommend going to Cranial Tech if there is one near you because

they have a wealth of experience with older babies. But I wouldn't

put it off much longer since 20m old is getting closer to the limit

(they only band to 24m).

As far as the teeth go, my son's jaw looked crooked early on too,

but now that he has a full mouth of teeth, it's evened out. He was

recently at a pediatric dentist who checked out his jaw alignment

and said he was fine. I would recommend seeing a dentist if his jaw

is a concern for you. The dentist told me that there would be

nothing we could do this early (if there had been a problem), but

once a child is 7 or 8 or so (earlier than would be typical for just

crooked teeth/braces), they can be referred to an orthodontist who

could work on the jaw alignment.

Hope that helps.

Jake-20m (tort resolved/rt plagio/DOCBand 15 weeks)

Jordan-4

>

> greetings, all, I'm a new member and I'm hoping to connect with

> someone who may have experienced something like we have.

>

> one of my twins, now almost 20 months old, has a very mild case of

> torticollis -- which wasn't diagnosed until 16 months, well after

his

> skull took final form. we started physical therapy then, but were

told

> the shape of his head and face wouldn't change beyond this point.

the

> effects are barely perceptible, but I'm concerned there are other

> issues we should be looking into.

>

> an orthopedist checked him out and saw that he had full range of

> movement and no developmental delays -- basically telling us not to

> worry about it.

>

> but now that more of my son's teeth have come in I'm wondering if

his

> jaw is out of line somehow (tooth seems crooked). We've been

reassured

> all over the place, but I don't trust this attitude anymore since

it's

> how we got here in the first place (many times we'd pointed out our

> son's flat head as an infant, and our pediatrician never even

> mentioned the word torticollis, assuring us his head would round

out

> on its own).

>

> I almost wish his torticollis had been more pronounced, so our

> pediatrician would have recognized the condition and we could have

> treated it early. now that we're looking at permanent effects, I'm

> wondering what those effects might be.

>

> can anyone relate?

>

>

> mom to Luca and

>

[Guest guest]

Hi ,

I am new to the group, but I do want to share my experience w/ my son Ethan. He was diagnosed with tort at 2.5m and started pt 3x/week right away. At 4 m we went to CT and he will be getting his helmet tomorrow. We are still in pt 3x/week (had a few setbacks due to a bad cold and teething). Our pediatrician is really on top of things and one of the things that he is having us followup on is our son's eyesight. The tort can impact their developing eye muscles (b/c of looking to the side to see straight ahead, I think). Just a thought you might want to look into that as well. We won't go for the eye dr visit until Fri, so I can't really tell you just what they do.

Good Luck

Audra

Re: mild torticollis diagnosed too late

It sounds like from what the orthopedist said, his torticollis has been resolved? Or am I misunderstanding the situation? I am also confused by whether you're more concerned with the tort or the head shape? Are you still considering the possibility of getting a helmet for your son? I'm sorry I have so many questions, but I'm just looking for a little clarity. But in the meantime, I can share my experience.My son had tort but it was diagnosed very early, at his 2m checkup. It was resolved by the time he was 5 months old, but his head was very misshapen and we were told over and over that it would round out on its. However, his head shape only corrected slightly and we got him a DOCBand when he was 17 months old. It has made a difference and if you're considering banding, I would highly recommend going to Cranial Tech if there is one near you because they have a wealth of experience with older

babies. But I wouldn't put it off much longer since 20m old is getting closer to the limit (they only band to 24m). As far as the teeth go, my son's jaw looked crooked early on too, but now that he has a full mouth of teeth, it's evened out. He was recently at a pediatric dentist who checked out his jaw alignment and said he was fine. I would recommend seeing a dentist if his jaw is a concern for you. The dentist told me that there would be nothing we could do this early (if there had been a problem), but once a child is 7 or 8 or so (earlier than would be typical for just crooked teeth/braces) , they can be referred to an orthodontist who could work on the jaw alignment. Hope that helps.Jake-20m (tort resolved/rt plagio/DOCBand 15 weeks)Jordan-4>> greetings, all, I'm a new member and I'm hoping to connect with> someone who may have experienced something like we have.> > one of my twins, now almost 20 months old, has a very mild case of> torticollis -- which wasn't diagnosed until 16 months, well after his> skull took final form. we started physical therapy then, but were told> the shape of his head and face wouldn't change beyond this point. the> effects are barely perceptible, but I'm concerned there are other> issues we should be looking into.> > an orthopedist checked him out and saw that he had full range of> movement and no developmental delays -- basically telling us not to> worry about it. > > but now that more of my son's teeth

have come in I'm wondering if his> jaw is out of line somehow (tooth seems crooked). We've been reassured> all over the place, but I don't trust this attitude anymore since it's> how we got here in the first place (many times we'd pointed out our> son's flat head as an infant, and our pediatrician never even> mentioned the word torticollis, assuring us his head would round out> on its own).> > I almost wish his torticollis had been more pronounced, so our> pediatrician would have recognized the condition and we could have> treated it early. now that we're looking at permanent effects, I'm> wondering what those effects might be.> > can anyone relate? > > > mom to Luca and >