Successful management of Congenital Muscular Torticollis requires relaxed and educated parents, caregivers and babies. Physical therapists help resolve infant torticollis presentations with five key treatment strategies:
- Facilitate infant neck and trunk active range of motion play.
- Encourage infant self-development and organization of symmetrical movement patterns.
- Adapt your infant's surrounding environment in order to stimulate active self-engagement in normal cervical movement and eye tracking.
- Initiate GENTLE and comfortable passive range of motion (low load, prolonged stretch) to normalize cervical mobility.
- Educate and practice with parents and caregivers specific treatment strategies to employ at home for maximal beneficial treatment effect. Specific educational topics include:
- Positioning techniques for your baby when awake and asleep
- Importance of supervised awake tummy time activity 3 times/day
- Limitation of infant time spent in passive asymmetric prolonged positioning (car seats, strollers, swings).
- Best strategies for infant positioning during feeding/changing that will encourage your baby's midline neck posture or neck postures correcting unilateral Sternocleidomastoid muscle overuse/dominance.
