Chiropractic care of a six-year-old child with congenital torticollis.

OBJECTIVE

To discuss the care of a patient with congenital torticollis who was treated with chiropractic diversified technique and a chiropractic technique proposed by Frogley and Wallace in a previously published article.

CLINICAL FEATURES

A 6-year-old female suffered from congenital torticollis with a left head-tilt subsequent to a difficult birth that culminated in a Caesarian section. Computerized tomography of the brain revealed plagiocephaly. Left facial asymmetry was demonstrated on visual observation.

INTERVENTION AND OUTCOME

The patient was treated with a chiropractic adjusting protocol as suggested by Frogley and Wallace and by diversified chiropractic technique. She tolerated the care well and experienced substantial changes in clinical presentation including a distinct improvement in head-tilt. The improvement in head-tilt has been maintained for a period of 1 year.

CONCLUSION

The conservative chiropractic methodology postulated by Frogley and Wallace in the care of headache patients should be investigated further in its use for congenial torticollis. The positive results observed with this patient lead the authors to recommend that additional studies be undertaken to assess whether these clinical observations can be replicated in other cases of congenital torticollis.