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Torticollis: A Tearless Approach To Treatment

“I watched a remarkable, quiet, tearless session…that ended with his body and head in midline. No neck stretching!! No stretching of any kind!  It’s particularly appealing in that parents get to hug and hold their children and get changes…without imposing any demands.”
Billi Cusick’s PT, MS, COF

Torticollis is a term used when a baby tends to keep their head tilted or turned to one side. The most common type of torticollis in children in Congenital Muscular Torticollis. The head is positioned in various degrees of tilt to one side and then rotation to the opposite side.Evidence-Based Care Guideline for Management of Congenital Muscular Torticollis in children age 0 to 36 months describes the traditional approach to torticollis treatment, which includes stretching, positioning, and active movement on the weaker side.  The guideline does include assessing the full body, but treatment of these findings is not specifically recommended.  Traditionally, the therapist will assess the full body, but then treat the neck in isolation because this is the most visible and obvious problem area.

The TMR approach to torticollis addresses the body as a WHOLE.  Eliminate imbalances in the larger muscles to allow the tiny neck muscles to do their job spontaneously.  Its like a potted plant growing crooked.  We don’t stretch the leaves or the little stems.  We repot the roots so that the plant can grow straight.  Our visual and balance systems will automatically bring the head to the middle once we help balance out our roots, which in the body is the pelvis.

Some red flags that parents may notice outside of the head position or turning preference is that it may be harder to put one arm in the shirt when dressing, the baby always rolls to one side, or the baby learning to sit always falls in the same direction.  Some other signs are bottom scooting rather than crawling on hands and knees, cruising along the couch in only one direction, and walking with one foot turned out.

Parents are taught how to do positioning and play at home that comfortably releases the bodies restrictions. They are also taught how to monitor their child’s movement patterns over time, so that if asymmetries increase while a child is learning a new skill, they will know how to address it.

Curious if this tearless appropach may be best for you and your baby?  Call us to set up a screening at 908-543-4390.

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Tippy Toes and Normal Development

A Dad asked me today if it was okay that his almost 2 year-old was walking on her tiptoes. His 5 year-old daughter also walks on her toes, but she has cerebral palsy, and has gone through years of botox injections and wearing orthotics to help her to stand on flat feet and to maintain the flexibility of her calves.  Read more

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Studying For the PCS Exam

The past several months I spent every extra moment I had studying. I took an exam on Saturday to obtain the credential Pediatric Certified Specialist. During every patient cancellation, after my daughter went to bed, and another other time I could grab was put towards learning everything I could about the field that I have devoted myself to professionally over the past 11 years. Along the way I learned a lot of new things, sometimes a small detail, sometimes familiarizing myself with a diagnosis I have not see in person (you tube was an awesome resource since I’m a visual learner), and other times a reflection on my personal life and professional practice. I thought I would share some of these things today. Read more

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Dyspraxia: Conquering the Motor Challenges

Re-posted from OUR Journey Thru Autism

“I’m doing it! I’m doing it!” yells an exuberant 8 year-old boy as he rides away from me on his bike. This young boy has a diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder and dyspraxia and was so frightened to just sit on his bike with training wheels 4 months ago that he held on to me for dear life. Today he rides away from me on a two-wheeled bike on his own and tomorrow he will ride with his brother through the neighborhood. Read more

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Autism and Vaccines

For many of us who have a loved one with autism or work with children with autism, the vaccine debate is not something new.  It is one that has been on my mind more over the last couple of years as I have done research to help me make decisions about how and when to vaccinate my daughter.  It comes up frequently with parents of  some of the children that I work with as they recount their stories and I have also treated children with “medically accepted” vaccination injuries. Read more

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Movement As A Tool: How We Can Learn Through Our Strengths

Reposted from Our Journey Thru Autism

Children with autism spectrum disorders often have movement as a strength. Perhaps the child cannot talk or doesn’t know how to initiate play with a peer, but they can typically walk down the block and climb the monkey bars. We’re not talking about the quality, variety, or skill level of movement because children with ASD often have significant deficits in these aspects of movement. We are so often focusing on what children with developmental disabilities can’t do and coming up with strategies to improve these areas. What if we flip it and and look at their strengths. If we have identified movement as a strength, then how can we USE that strength to help a child learn, have fun and engage in social interactions. Read more

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Therapeutic Play With Playdough

Playdough can be a great tool to strengthen the hands and for imaginary play.  It can also be a great tool for increasing sensory awareness of the feet.  It can also be used to challenge balance in standing like in this video, or it can be done in sitting too.  Have fun trying it out!

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TMR TOTS: Week 1

Its been 3 work days since I came back from the TMR course. I’ve been trialing it out with many of my kiddos. Its definitely taking less time to do the assessment of the 7 positions and to determine which is the hard vs. easy side for each motion. I do get consistent improvement in mobility by doing the TMR method. I am still waiting to see the functional changes before I know whether this is going to be a new tool in my toolbox or not. I plan to do some videotaping in order to look at the subtle changes that may be occurring. Read more

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Adventures in PT Land

I just came back from 2 long days at a course called TMR (total motion release) for TOTs. I have been looking into the TMR program since last year around this time, but had only read about it for adults. The creator is a marketing guru if you ask me. I wasn’t too attracted to it initially. Orthopedics is not my thing and I’ve never been good at taking ortho topics and applying it to the kids. I have felt for a long time though that there is a lot of knowledge in ortho land that could help the kids gain mobility- I just never knew how to access this information in a way that I could apply to the population that I work with. Read more

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My Favorite Halloween Costume!

Check out this fantastic Fireman driving his Fire Truck!  Complete with flashing lights, a siren, and important tools in the truck.  Please share with me other creative Halloween costumes you made or saw this year!

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