Torticollis - Wry Neck

[Neetish]

Question -

Has anybody ever treated any client with torticollis?

I am being "punished" (My MT teach is an idiot) and having to do a 3 page paper on it instead of doing CPR training this past Thursday. (I did my CPR training back in July in another class - not my fault I'm 6 weeks ahead of the rest of my MT class!)

I was just looking for some insights on treating it that standard web research hasn't given me so far.

Thanks!

 

[RANDALL]

Torticollis-wry neck

LN,
I'm surprised you haven't found anything in your search. I have a weekly client who has focal dystonia. It's a form of torticollis, spasmodic (sp). Her neck is in spasm and her head shakes and is turned to the right. Her doctors have treated this with Botox and pain meds. She seems to get little help from these treatments. Several years ago a doc injected her throat and she couldn't eat solid food for three weeks :shock:
She says that massage is very helpful and while I feel that it won't cure her, it will certainly help her manage her symptoms. I work her scalenes, SCM, and surrounding muscles.
As far as research you might look on Medline.
Good luck,
Rubmyster

 

[Caiden]

Hi Rubmyster -

Yeah, I found a lot of info out there, but was looking for "personal" input. I had already heard about the Botox injections from my clinic aps class & was like, "I really wouldn't want my throat paralyzed!" :shock:

There are some great sites with a lot of info out that I found, but very clinical and dry for the most part.

I got what I needed and ended up with 4 and 1/2 pages for this paper. (When you add in the cover page & end notes page 7 pages total!)

This is the last one I have to do - hoorah! I'm done w/ school as of Thursday. (Halleilujah!) :whew:

 

[Silent]

If and when you actually see the spasmodic torticollis, it is something very painful, and uncontrollable... if it was you, you would be very happy to have the muscles of your neck stop spasming, so you would just about do anything to stop it. I delt with a client about a year ago with this... it was the toughest case I have ever had to deal with. EVERYTHING I did put her into spasm... EVERYTHING... I almost wanted to sit there and cry because I could see her pain, she came to me on a referral, knowing my background... and I was stumped. This is not just a little spasm that is annoying, true honest uncontrollable violent contracture with spasm. Just imagine having your pecs, scalines, SCM, hyoids, digastric, and whatever else kicks in all contract at once... so Botox can be a wonderful thing for these people.

Don't take this post the wrong way, but this was my nightmare client, that walked in without anyway for me to know why she was coming... so yes, it was a little difficult for me at the time.

 

[Thanh Truc K]

Yeah, I can understand how that would be a nightmare.

I know about the muscles spasms - I once had a nasty reaction to compazine and because of medical incompetence, I was left to suffer whole body muscle spasms for over 8 hours - to the point that my jaw was forced out of joint.

It wasn't until after 5:30 at night that I was finally given a musle relaxant. Grrrr.... :roll:

 

[Mountian_Baby]

Agonistic contractions and passive (gentle!) stretches work well to inhibit spasm. Isometrically resisting in the opposite direction of all 3 scalenes and SCM will help decrease the spasm and at the same time slowly move them out of the wry-neck position. Cold reduces spasm and once the spasm is gone, heat reduces the hypertonicity.

 

[EddieJ]

Thanks!

I got the paper done & turned in on Monday. It wasn't due until Tuesday, but I wanted the damn thing out of my hair. (As it was, school was cancelled on Tues. night because of the sleet & snow, so it was good I turned it in early!)

Okay, back to cleaning - I need to clean up the kitchen in order to bake some apple pies today for my last day of school!

 

[Madd-e]

Thanks!

I got the paper done & turned in on Monday. It wasn't due until Tuesday, but I wanted the damn thing out of my hair. (As it was, school was cancelled on Tues. night because of the sleet & snow, so it was good I turned it in early!)

Okay, back to cleaning - I need to clean up the kitchen in order to bake some apple pies today for my last day of school!

Congratulations on your final day of school!! It is sweet of you to make pies! When is your graduation?

 

[LD50]

I found out, that I was supposed to walk in the ceremony back at the beginning of the month, but because of my schedule being so screwey, I didn't think I was eligible to walk.

And, my admin rep, of course, hadn't bothered to contact me at all to tell me that yes, I was supposed to walk!

Oh well, I will just walk in August and have more time to gather the clan & make them buy me all sorts of MT stuff.

 

[Toniann]

Wow, that is confusing! I'm glad you get to be in the ceremony in August. Good perspective on that, lol!

Our school started a class at a time. The class starts together, goes through everything together on the school schedule, graduates together. I've been amazed at how complicated some schools make it!!!

 

[wyomugs]

Our school started a class at a time. The class starts together, goes through everything together on the school schedule, graduates together. I've been amazed at how complicated some schools make it!!!

My school, is unfortunately, owned by CEC, who owns Sanford Brown, among others. So it's a distant corp declaring how things should be run for the most part.

I was supposed to have 3 people in my group when I started last May - 1 gal put her enrollment off for 6 weeks because of financing, the other guy dropped out w/in 4 weeks, leaving me by myself. So, my schedule has been wacky since last year!

I was supposed to take Clinical Aps at night starting like Monday, but because I dropped into the morning session to take that class, I ended up being able to finish on time instead of 6 weeks delayed. So, I'm running back and forth finishing MT2 tonight, and then, I was doing clinical aps in the mornings from 8 to 12. Made for one very tired and worn out Niko!

Oh well, the end is here! I will be done tonight!

 

[BB8 Fan For Life!]

Ah, there is nothing like a distant corp to totally screw things up - in the name of "efficiency", no less!!!!

Good for you for sticking it out and SUCCEEDING!