noun
definition
A medical condition in which the neck muscles contract, causing the neck to twist or jerk.
Examples of torticollis in a Sentence
It can also be caused by a condition called torticollis.
Your doctor may also recommend stretching exercises if your child has torticollis.
The movements may be sustained or jerky (myoclonic torticollis ).
The movements may be sustained or jerky (myoclonic torticollis).
Wryneck, also called twisted neck or torticollis, is a deformity in which the neck is twisted and held at an angle to one side.
A congenital (present at birth) form called congenital torticollis is the most common type of wryneck seen in children.
Adults can also develop spasmodic torticollis with head tilt and jerky head movements.
Most often adult torticollis develops between the ages of 30 and 60.
Adult onset torticollis is not be discussed here.
Congenital muscular torticollis is a neck deformity that affects newborns.
It arises from different causes than adult-onset torticollis.
Infants who have congenital muscular torticollis appear normal when they are born.
Congenital torticollis is a rare disorder.
For reasons that are not understood, about 20 percent of children with congenital muscular torticollis also have congenital hip dysplasia.
Congenital torticollis is thought to be caused by trauma around the time of birth.
Support for this theory comes from the observation that children with congenital torticollis are often breech or difficult forceps deliveries.
In rare cases, congenital torticollis can also be a symptom of other congenital disorders including abnormalities of the neck vertebra such as spina bifida or Arnold-Chiari syndrome.
Torticollis can also be caused at an older age by fracture or dislocation of the neck vertebra or juvenile rheumatoid arthritis.
Symptoms of congenital torticollis are a painless mass on the neck appearing during the first two months of life and a persistent tilt of the head to one side for no other apparent reason.
Treatment should begin immediately for infants with torticollis.
Conservative treatment for congenital torticollis should begin as soon as the condition is diagnosed.
Another conservative treatment to supplement stretching exercises is a tubular orthosis for torticollis (TOT) collar.
When congenital torticollis is caused by deformities of the neck bones (vertebrae), conservative treatment involves the use of neck braces or body jackets.
The goal of surgery in congenital muscular torticollis is to cut and then reattach the SCM muscle in a way that will remove the constricting bands of fibrous tissue, improve range of motion, and allow the head to be held vertically.
Other surgeries are done when the cause of torticollis is a bone deformity.
Surgery is highly successful on children who do not respond to conservative treatment, so long as their torticollis is caused by restriction of the SCM muscle.
In cases where torticollis is caused by or complicated by bone deformities or other congenital defects, the outcome is less likely to be successful.
Torticollis is unlikely to recur if stretching and flexibility exercises for the neck are continued.
There is no sure way to prevent wryneck and congenital torticollis; however, care should be taken to avoid as much trauma to the child as possible during delivery.
Parents' concerns often are focused on the psychological impact of torticollis in children who do to respond completely to treatment.
Around 40 per cent of patients with spasmodic torticollis are helped.