Torticollis, Scoliosis, and Sensory Disorders

In an earlier post, I discussed my son and his diagnosis with torticollis in his first months of life and how I was concerned about the risks of scoliosis.

Here is an update about a year and a half after his physical and occupational therapies.

Rightly, I was concerned about body imbalances, like scoliosis, because I suffer from them. However, there was another component of torticollis that I didn’t give enough weight to…sensory processing disorder (SPD).

SPD is not currently recognized as a specific medical diagnosis but encompasses symptoms relating to how people integrate and engage with their environments. They are usually oversensitive to certain sounds or sensations, for example (Goodman, WebMD). You might see it in kids that do not like the feeling of clothes on their skin or certain foods. Most kids will have periods of not liking certain sensations but often get used to them. Those that don’t may have difficulty processing the sensory inputs they are receiving.

Since my son completed his initial round of therapies, I thought things would get better. And they did…some. He was more symmetrical and used both sides evenly, but he never seemed to get “used to” the sensations he was feeling in his body.

He is nearly two and still resists most solid foods. He is constantly climbing. He fights wearing clothes. He wakes often at night. He doesn’t react to directions. He barely speaks.

All the while, the current medical system consensus is that if he is under two this is all relatively normal behavior. I understand that toddlers like to play and may not like to eat all foods or follow directions, but at some point there has to be more going on, right?

I returned my son to occupational therapy and we started working with getting him more comfortable eating and helping him get used to the sensations of play. It has helped him eat more but he still doesn’t eat much and his other symptoms continue. The best thing these appointments have done for my family is help me acknowledge that there is more going on here than normal toddler behavior.

So, I started doing research. And the easiest to understand conclusion came from “Long-Term Neurodevelopmental Follow-Up of Children With Congenital Muscular Torticollis” published in Journal of Child Neurology.

Here’s what they found:

“Our findings suggest congenital muscular torticollis to be a significant risk factor for later neurodevelopmental conditions with disorders presenting at different stages of development.” Of those children studied, 57.9% were at risk for a developmental disorder (like language impairment, autistic spectrum disorder, or attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder [ADHD]) and 44.1% demonstrated a development delay or disorder currently or previously. Though congenital muscular torticollis is a common condition, long-term neurodevelopment studies are lacking. These results, however, show how that there is a need for increased and improved studies and that there is a link between torticollis and SPD.

I am not sure how or why torticollis would lead to lasting effects. But from my experience with scoliosis and body asymmetries, these conditions create different neural pathways on each side of our bodies. If our babies developed one side differently then the other it would make sense to me that their nervous systems are having a harder time processing the discrepant/asymmetric information that they receive.

This information is anecdotal. I am not a doctor and know that every body and child is different. However, I have seen that my son had torticollis, was treated for it, and now has residual difficulties managing his sensory experiences. It is hard to get treatment and care because no one seems to think it important (or at least not until he is two), but I have found advocates that have helped me support him along the way.

If you want to hear more about our journey and what we are doing in his therapy appointments, let me know: info@360-yoga.com.

Other posts in the Yoga for Scoliosis, Pregnancy, and Postpartum Series:
First Trimester Prenatal Yoga for Scoliosis
Yoga Poses for Scoliosis and Pregnancy
Review: Yoga for Pregnancy: Safe and Gentle Stretches by Sandra Jordan
Prenatal Yoga Tips
Top 5 Prenatal Yoga Poses
Can You Get an Epidural if You Have Scoliosis
Torticollis and Scoliosis
Torticollis and Lip/Tongue Tie Resources for Babies
Review: 5 Days to Mindful Mothering by Susie Fishleder