In general, infantile congenital myogenic torticollis is caused by the contraction of the sternocleidomastoid muscle on the affected side. It is characterized by the head inclining to the affected side and the face turning to the unaffected side.
Treatment: First, under a supine position, the therapist pushes and rubs the sternocleidomastoid muscle on the affected side with his thumb in order to promote local blood circulation. The regions to be massaged should be coated with lubricants such as vaseline or liquid paraffin oil to avoid skin abrasion. The second, the therapist presses and kneads the affected side with his thumb to relax local soft tissues, and then kneads the affected region from top to bottom and from right to left with the radial edges of his thumb and middle finger so as to relax the tendons, promote blood circulation, and relieve spasm. The third, with the pads of the thumb and middle finger, the therapist grasps both sides of the affected region and pinches, kneads and plucks the area from right to left in order to remove accumulated masses and promote blood circulation. The last, the therapist supports the infantile shoulder on the affected side with one hand and his head crown with the other. He inclines the patient's head to the shoulder on the unaffected side gradually and gradually pulls the sternocleidomastoid muscle on the affected side with a force from small to great to promote the flow of qi and blood and thus separate the adhesion. Care must be taken that all manipulations are performed gently.
The conservative massage therapy should correct the deformities in most cases. If they are not corrected by the age of two years, surgical intervention should be considered.
Key Words: Infantile congenital myogenic torticollis, massage, sternocleidomastoid muscle
Writer: Longhua Xu
Department of Massage, People's Hospital Attached to Fujian College of Traditional Chinese medicine, Fuzhou 350001
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