P T HEAD TILT 5 1/2 months

I need to yell at myself. I should have pushed the issue before now.

Amy has had a head tilt for months. Pedi has not suggested PT bec. we "thought it the tilt would clear up." Mind you I don't want to yell at her...its me ...I feel horrible....the tilt has gotten better but I guess it is still there so we need to go get an eval.

It has been so wierd. I have prided myself on not comparing Amy and Matthew even though there are marked differences...isn't that what a good Mom woul/ should do. Matthew began pusing up on tummmy n really early and has been rolling over for over a month. Amy has resisted tummy time and has no desire to roll over. I have spent time wihth her on her tummy adn in rolling over practice but I guess I have not done enough. I know I a noto a professional but I thought I could bring her along. She seems so content being on her back or playing with toys I put in front of her while she is on her belly but doesn't seem to care about rolling her self over.

Help me understand what will be involved in P T eval and treatment, plese. And thanks for letting me GET IT OUT here.

 

I'm in the same boat. I just switched doctors and now realize how serious the issue is. Evan has a head tilt and his head is "moderately" mishaped (i.e. flat head and misallignment). One of his ears is 1.5 cm in front of the other! James also has "flat head". I don't know exactly how it happened - I never just leave them to lay on their backs. I even hired a helper so they would get more holding and cuddling. They just have really soft skulls and a real preference for one side of their heads. Now we're doing exercises and seeing a physiotherapist at Sick Kids in Toronto. I am hoping, hoping, hoping we can avoid a helmet.

BTW: some physio will really help your little one.

 

QUOTE(CHJH @ Jul 21 2007, 01:14 AM) [snapback]339533[/snapback]
I'm in the same boat. I just switched doctors and now realize how serious the issue is. Evan has a head tilt and his head is "moderately" mishaped (i.e. flat head and misallignment). One of his ears is 1.5 cm in front of the other! James also has "flat head". I don't know exactly how it happened - I never just leave them to lay on their backs. I even hired a helper so they would get more holding and cuddling. They just have really soft skulls and a real preference for one side of their heads. Now we're doing exercises and seeing a physiotherapist at Sick Kids in Toronto. I am hoping, hoping, hoping we can avoid a helmet.

BTW: some physio will really help your little one.



Thanks, for your reply. Did you choose to go to a specialist or did your Pedi suggest it? How long did Evan have a head tilt? Did the specialist evaluateor treat James as well? How long have you gone for treatments? -------- If you don't mind me asking

 

This happened with my singleton. We did tons of tummy time and he was rolling and crawling early so I don't think the two are necessarily connected. I think his was from falling asleep in the car seat without any support leading to a shortening of the muscles on one side. He also had a flat spot from sleeping on his back. I held him, cuddled him all the time so don't beat yourself up about it, I am sure you are doing an awesome job. We did exercises (never saw a PT) for months at every diaper change and he is fine. My dh was freaking out about the possibility of a helmet but it didn't happen. I hope it all works out just fine!!

 

My DS has had torticollis since birth. he started PT at 6 weeks or so. your first visit w/ a PT is going to be mostly the PT evaluating your DD by taking her through various stretches to see how much range of motion (freedom of movement w/in specific ranges) she has and how the muscles lengthen out as she works w/ her. S/he may also measure her head to check for assymetries indicating plagiocephaly. The PT should discuss w/you the issues associated w/ torticollis and the various methods of treatments available, ask him/her for any brochures or handouts, which they will probably give you anyway. You will probably also be given instruction on how to do neck and torso stretches and how many to do each and # of times per day at home in between visits.
There have been lots of posts on TS about torticollis, I would do a search for it, I think it will really help you ease your mind a bit. Here is my post about the topic: http://www.twinstuff.com/forum/index.php?s...;hl=torticollis Feel free to PM me if you want any more info or just for support, eveyone here has been a great source of reassurance for me. :hug99:

Alyson

 

PT is a piece of cake (i'm a PT, so i know ). the first day the therapist will thoroughly evaluate your daughter, checking things like tone, range of motion, if she moves both sides of her body, preferance/avoidances, posture in various postions, basically seeing where she is on the develpmental scale. Depending on what she finds, she (or he!) will make a treatment plan. usually involves some stretching and positioning and exercises on mom's part (can't see a 5.5 motnh old dong her own exercsises- i can't get my adults to do them!!!). the hardest part for YOU can be the stretching, as often your baby will not like that part. but remember that it is what is best for her in the long run, she just doesn't know that. you'll probably only have to go ever 1-2 weeks or so, and i would think she will get back on target pretty quickly. don't be nervous- they will take good care of her! maybe ask around to some friends or local twin group for ar ecommendation.
good luck!

 

Evan's head has tilted pretty much since birth. I was so overwhelmed with two new babies that I didn't really notice. I know that sounds terrible. But when I look back at pics it is always tilted a little. I did notice his preference for sleeping with his head to the right - mostly because his right ear doesn't have much cartilige and was always flipping. I asked our family doctor about it and she checked to see that he could turn to the left too (he can - but not as far) and told me not to worry. At three months I started to worry because Evan always looked to the right and James always looked to the left. Both had mishaped heads, despite my best efforts to push tummy time and re-position them often while sleeping. I kept thinking, "Well it can't be flathead because they're always being held by someone." Duh - it's flathead. I wanted to mention it to our new pedi at the boys' three month appointment but unfortunately we had a resident/intern that day and she said "Oh, their heads will pop back out when the start crawling." At our 4-month visit I finally had a chance to reallly talk to our new pedi. They both have positional plagiocephaly and it likely started in utero. They were squished and the must have started to have a preference for looking one way. Evan is in physio now because of his head tilt and I am doing all of his excercises with James too. We're going back to physio in 3 weeks for a second appointment. I feel awful about their heads. I set the alarm and get up to reposition them throughout the night and I try to do tummy time after every nap, first thing in the morning and before bed. Unfortunately Evan doesn't last long, but every minute is supposed to help. I am trying to get them into their bumbos and exersaucers ASAP - I feel like crying every time I have to lay them down.

Truly I think this was caused by their car seats and swings. They spent so much time in the swings and their stroller (in the car seats) during the first 10 weeks of life because those were the only places they would sleep, other than in someone's arms. I tried to have them held as much as possible - I even hired a helper for a few hours a week basically just to hold babies...but there was only so much I could do. I know this sounds terrible because of SIDS but I think if I could go back in time I would just sleep them on their tummies.

Any tips would be appreciated.

 

QUOTE(CHJH @ Jul 21 2007, 02:25 AM) [snapback]339602[/snapback]
but there was only so much I could do. I know this sounds terrible because of SIDS but I think if I could go back in time I would just sleep them on their tummies.

Any tips would be appreciated.



I understand where you are coming from and it sounds like you are doing everything you can possibly do to make it better, you can't change what happened in the past you can only deal with what's happening in the present and try to affect the future. easier said than done, try not to be so hard on yourself. :cray: :vava:
BTW I can't believe you set the alarm to get up and change their positions, that is vigilant! :icon_eek:

:love0028: :love0028: :love0028:

Alyson

 

Wow you TS people are so nice and helpful and knowledgable and willing to share you experiences. I am so touched by all your posts.

I have been feeling reaqlly horribly sad and even alittle scared . I know that PT is going ot help but feel bad that my little daughter has something wrong. I onow it could be worse...but am still sad about the whole thing. I hope that I get over it quickly so I can be the best mom to her.
MommyDee- Thank you for you reply. You instantly made me feel better. I have an appointment on Monday for a PT eval. Your words and professional experience helped me get some perspective. Maybe you could let me check in with you about how things are going.

Is the PT done at the office , at my home? is it me doing exercises at home and going to the office periodically? Thanks for helping out.

Alyson- Thanks. Your post helped. I think I will get Matthew evaluated as well. He has always had a preference to turn to the left and shows some flatness. athe pedi. last month said keep him on his tummy whenever he is awake. He turns he head both ways and has improved but I think I would rest better if he was evaluated as well. I brought him in for a check after seeing diagrams on line about plagio..Th senior Pedi said he didn't think it weas a problem but gave me a referral to pedi.nerologist just in case I was the type who needed the check up to help me rest at night. I really took his words to heart and decided that since he wasn't concerned I wouldn't worry. Now I think I want every specialist to see Matthew and Amy. I hope I don't turn into a F.reaky MOM

CHJH-- Wow you sure are a dedicated Mom. I am glad you shared your thoughts and experiences. Your post really helped me , thanks. One thing though, when I googled torticollis one site aI got to ( the ABCs of torticollis) listed cbouncy seats and exersaucer as 2 things to stay away from....Now I feel more horribe because I was in love with my bouncy and Amy slept in hers 3 months because of reflux. Also somewhere I read that reflux is an early sign that comes before a tort. DX. Just thought I'd tell you since you were looking forward to using both the excersaucer and b seat. I know the internet is both a good thing and a bad thing at times....but I couldn't go to bed tonight with out tlelling you about ahat I read.

MommyDee-----what are your thoughts on exersaucer and b seat use? what about bumbos? and jumperoos? and swings? OH MY!

 

You will probably start off doing office visits and the PT will give you stretches to do at home in between visits, this is what is going to really help your DD and DS

Bouncy seats, swings, carseats are all bad for plagio b/c they put pressure on the head, they can be bad for tort b/c they make allow or create the situation where the child keeps his/her head in the same position too long and in the favored tilted position for torticollis, some torticollis is caused from allowing poor head and neck positioning in swings and bouncy seats etc.

Exersaucers and jumperoos are bad for torticollis b/c if the neck is not stable/strong enough and it can make the muscles tighten in reaction to all the bouncing around

"reflux is an early sign that comes before a tort DX" I have not heard of this and wonder how they came up w/ that? where did you read it?

the best thing you can do is use the swings, bouncies, etc in moderation, change your babies position frequently and make sure they are getting tons of tummy time. also don't think of tummy time as having to be on the floor. It can be a great opportunity for cuddle time. Both DS and DD love to lay tummy down on my chest and lift their heads up to look at me and smile and we hug and kiss their cheeks, you can also lay them across your lap and gently move your legs side to side or tap your feet to give them vibration, my DS especially likes this with a pat pat on the bum and helps get the gas out too!

"Th senior Pedi said he didn't think it weas a problem but gave me a referral to pedi.nerologist just in case I was the type who needed the check up to help me rest at night. I really took his words to heart and decided that since he wasn't concerned I wouldn't worry. Now I think I want every specialist to see Matthew and Amy."
Talk to your PT and see what they think , especially have them do the head measurements to see if they are w/in a normal range, and ask if there is anyone who will do a free evaluation, I know in my area there are two, but they are both over an hour away
Also my PT said kids can go up to age 2 for a helmet/doc band for plagio treatment

HTH

Alyson