Congenital Torticollis

Congenital muscular torticollis (CMT) is the third most common musculoskeletal disorder of infancy, affecting 3.9% to 16% of infants. It develops due to unilateral shortening of the SCM, whether or not there is a mass in the sternocleidomastoid muscle (SCM). CMT is characterized by lateral flexion of the affected SCM to the ipsilateral side and rotation to the contralateral side. Its etiology is not fully known. However, it can be associated with SCM disorder that develops due to birth trauma, prenatal/perinatal compartment syndrome and intrauterine restriction. It has been reported that conditions such as multiple pregnancy, intrauterine stenosis, vascular causes, fibrosis of the peripartum bleeding area, use of forceps at birth, difficult birth, and primary myopathy of SCM increase the possibility of CMT. It is necessary to approach babies diagnosed with CMT with an effective treatment program. The most important and effective of these approaches is to provide the necessary education and an intensive home program to their families, with whom they spend most of their days. By educating the family, on the one hand, the baby will receive regular treatment and the family's communication with the baby will be strengthened, while on the other hand, limitations such as transportation, time and cost will be eliminated. In our study; It was aimed to examine the effectiveness of the home program given in cooperation with the family in babies diagnosed with CMT and to create a new protocol.

Congenital muscular torticollis (CMT) is a common postural deformity that occurs shortly after birth and is typically characterized by ipsilateral cervical lateral flexion and contralateral cervical rotation due to unilateral shortening of the sternocleidomastoid (SKM) muscle. It is a non-neurological postural disorder that generally affects 3% to 16% of babies. Theories such as intrauterine stenosis, vascular causes, fibrosis of the peripartum bleeding area, difficult birth, and primary myopathy of the SCM muscle have been put forward for its causes.Head position; It is thought that it may cause a negative impact on posture control and movement development, sensorimotor coordination, and retardation in gross motor function by affecting the shoulder, rib cage and abdominal muscles. Motor skills and sensory experiences begin to develop after birth and development continues as children grow. Having good motor control also helps children explore the world around them, which can help many other areas of development. There are many environmental and biological factors that affect motor development. In particular, the home environment, where the child spends most of his time, is one of the key factors affecting motor development. The home environment is known to be a very important factor for motor development in babies. At the same time, the variety of equipment and environmental conditions help children provide different sensory experiences. Since it is a common practice for physiotherapists to advise patients on home activities, exploring the home environment can have important effects on development. For these reasons, it was thought that the motor development and sensory processing suggestions given in the home environment for children diagnosed with torticollis would be supported by home environment opportunities.