Torticollis is a contracture of the neck muscles. What are the causes ? Should you apply hot or cold? How to treat it?
Is your neck stuck and sore? You may be suffering from torticollis. The neck muscles contract and tense which prevents normal movement. Torticollis is often caused by bad posture. Most of the time, torticollis gets better on its own after a few days. Apply from heat can relieve symptoms. In some cases, if torticollis persists or worsens, it is important to see a doctor. How long does torticollis last? How to sleep with it? How to treat it?
Definition: what is torticollis?
THE torticollis is a benign painful manifestation of the neck associated with muscle spasms. The painful episode is associated with a decrease in possible movements of the head and neck. The contracture usually affects the sterno-cleido-mastoid muscle, located at the front of each side of the neck, and which allows the head to bend to the side opposite to its location.
What can cause torticollis?
When discussing the causes of torticollis, it is often a question of “bad position” that would be taken or an excess of activity compared to what the person usually does. “In reality, we do not really know the causes of torticollis but we know that the cneck pain is more common in sedentary peoplewho smoke and have sleeping troubles. To this can also be added factors relating to professional dissatisfaction, stress or even depression..”
In case of torticollis, Frédéric Srour recommends to “keep moving as much as possible the head and possibly take painkillers“. He warns : “If putting on a neck brace can ease the pain, it should not be kept permanently so as not to enter a cycle of kinesiophobia (i.e. fear of movement) which would increase the risk of chronic neck pain”. It is advisable to try to make small, simple and painless movements. Heat having a beneficial effect on contractures, it is advisable to protect the neck by covering it with a scarf or heating it with a hot water bottle. It is right to consult after a week if the symptoms have not evolved positively. physiotherapy sessions You will then be prescribed because this treatment allows you to limit drug treatments. These may nevertheless be used.especially to help sleep“says Frédéric Srour.
How long does torticollis last?
A non-traumatic common torticollis usually lasts less than a week.
The only recommendation for sleeping when suffering from torticollis and that of “sleep in the most comfortable position“. You can also help with painkillers like paracetamol.
What is spasmodic torticollis?
“Spasmodic torticollis is a rare disease that has nothing to do with “classic” torticollis.” explains Frédéric Srour, physiotherapist.a neurological disease of cerebral origin classified as dystonia. This disease is manifested by abnormal and uncontrollable head movements related to contractions more or less permanent and painful neck muscles. “This rare torticollis which affects 3/10,000 people affects men and women indiscriminately, specifies Frédéric Srour. Abnormal movements of the head, pain associated with a blockage of the neck which does not fade naturally after 1 to 2 weeks should lead you to consult.” indicates Frédéric Srour. It is a doctor who most often makes this diagnosis clinically. The follow-up is carried out by a neurologist who may be required to perform botulinum toxin injections and by a physiotherapist.
What is congenital torticollis?
Congenital torticollis is infant specific. “The baby has an asymmetry of head positioning associated with difficulties in performing certain movements“explains Frédéric Srour. The infant preferentially presents a head and shoulder position which is quite fixed. Parents who are generally worried about this manifestation because it is often associated with a plagiocephaly (deformation of the skull). The pediatrician will confirm the diagnosis. The earlier the physiotherapy treatment, the better the results. Frédéric Srour recommends that parents “have their child monitored by health professionals who know this pathology perfectly and not to resort to unproven alternative medicine.”
What is chronic torticollis?
Chronic torticollis is a torticollis that lasts several weeks. “We then talk more about chronic neck paini.e. neck pain“, specifies Frédéric Srour. In the chronic stage, the frozen aspect of the head is less often present, but the patients are handicapped by pain and difficulty in performing certain head movements without causing them pain.”The term cervicalgia meaning “neck pain” it is the patient who will make this “diagnosis“” indicates Frédéric Srour. Ihe medical diagnosis consists of ruling out any cause other than a functional cause. (tumor, inflammatory disease, myelopathy…) which could be the cause of the pain. The diagnosis in physiotherapy will make it possible to determine the causes of these functional pains (contractures, muscular weakness, oculo-cervical uncoupling, etc.) and to treat them. In physiotherapy, the best treatment is physical treatment. “It consists of carrying out physiotherapy sessions based on specific exercises (of the neck, shoulders and eyes) and the learning of exercises, manual therapy aimed at carrying out complementary work to the exercises.“says Frédéric Srour.
What are the symptoms of torticollis?
The two main symptoms of torticollis are: neck pain and limitation in certain movements. The suffering person is unable to move the head naturally and in particular to perform rotations without pain and because the neck is tilted to one side, slightly forward or backward depending on the pain.
The best prevention of torticollis is to minimize contributing factors by engaging in regular physical activity, quitting smoking, looking after your sleep, by reducing stress factors and treating possible depression.
Thanks to Frédéric Srour, physiotherapist.