Congenital Muscular Torticollis: Early Identification, Treatment, and Parents’ Experiences
Oledzka M
Published on: 2022-06-24
Abstract
Purpose/Hypothesis: Congenital muscular torticollis (CMT) is a musculoskeletal deformity observed at birth or in infancy characterized by unilateral contracture of the sternocleidomastoid muscle (SCM). The majority of infants and children with CMT achieve good to excellent outcomes with early conservative physical therapy. The prognosis for full resolution of CMT and the length of intervention varies depending on the age at onset of intervention, severity of range of motion restrictions, and presence of pseudotumor in the SCM muscle. The diagnosis of CMT impacts not only the developing infant, but parents as well. The purpose of this study was to investigate, analyse, and compare experiences of parents of infants diagnosed with CMT with mild grades versus severe grades of involvement.
Number of Subjects: 12
Materials/Methods: Eleven mothers and one father participated in informal, one-on-one, semi-structured interviews from March 2016 until March 2018. Deductive coding method was used to look for common threads and patterns and to guide coding of data.
Results: Five main themes were identified for both groups of parents as being of central importance in their experiences: unfamiliarity with diagnosis, paediatrician’s approach to treatment of CMT, worrying about prognosis and future, managing home program while taking care of young infant, and support or lack of from family members.
Conclusions: This study demonstrates the need for educating the expecting parents and parents of young infants to screen their babies using visual observation for signs of CMT. Education about diagnosis of CMT, positional preference and preventative measures needs to be incorporated into prenatal education, new-born screenings and well-baby visits.
Clinical Relevance: Understating the parent’s experiences during the initial diagnosis and course of intervention in physical therapy provides important insight. Research supports early identification and treatment results in better outcomes.