Kinesitherapy and rehabilitation of torticollis in newborns

Ljateva, Ivana and Krstev, Toshe (2021) Kinesitherapy and rehabilitation of torticollis in newborns. Knowledge – International Journal, 48 (3). pp. 519-523. ISSN 2545-4439

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Abstract

Congenital muscular torticollis or the commonly known "crooked spin" is a condition in which the baby holds his head tilted to one side and has difficulty turning to the other. The newborn's chin is always turned towards the shoulder on the healthy side. Muscular torticollis in neonates is characterized by shortening of the sternocleidomastoid muscle (m. Sternocleidomastoideus). The onset of torticollis in newborns can occur at birth or a few months later, usually when the newborn begins to actively move his head. Appropriate and timely kinesitherapy and rehabilitation in newborns with torticollis is necessary for further healthy growth and development of the individual. Clinical trials and the very concept of kinesitherapy and rehabilitation are crucial to the torticollis correction process. The aim of this research is to show the effect of kinesitherapy in newborns with torticollis, to see the effect of early diagnosis and early rehabilitation of torticollis until its total overcoming. The study included 16 newborns with torticollis, including 7 female and 9 male neonates. The research was conducted in Rehabilitation center "Negorski banji" - in the period from September 2018 to March 2020. Sixteen neonates diagnosed with torticollis were included in this study, of which 7 were female and 9 were male. 10 newborns were born naturally, while 6 were born by caesarean section. Right torticollis was diagnosed in 6 newborns, left in 10. Our study found that the duration of treatment before recovery was about 2.5 months (81 days), had a lower incidence of concomitant postural plagiocephaly, on the CMT-affected side: we found no statistically significant difference (52% right, 48% left), while the most commonly reported side in the professional literature is the left. Based on the clinical evaluation, 4 of the newborns were prescribed a home therapy program, and the parents were briefly trained on how to perform the exercises at home by a physiotherapist. Sometimes it was necessary to demonstrate certain exercises to improve the self-confidence of the parents by convincing themselves that they would not hurt the holy child. By timely and correct assessment of the mobility and range of motion of the cervical spine in newborns, an appropriate rehabilitation, care and kinesitherapy plan can be prescribed and made. A key and inevitable factor that gives us complete recovery in torticollis is timely kinesitherapy, which if applied in the first months of life rehabilitation treatment lasts shorter, but still the advice to actively continue exercise at home despite full recovery is always in the first place for to exclude the minimum risk of relapse.

Item Type:	Article
Subjects:	Medical and Health Sciences > Clinical medicine Medical and Health Sciences > Health sciences Medical and Health Sciences > Other medical sciences
Divisions:	Faculty of Medical Science
Depositing User:	Tose Krstev
Date Deposited:	23 Nov 2021 09:09
Last Modified:	23 Nov 2021 09:09
URI:	https://eprints.ugd.edu.mk/id/eprint/28804

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