Since the last post "Cranial Remolding Helmets: To Be or Not to Be", my inbox is flooded with people asking for more information on why it is important to treat torticollis even when a baby has a cranial remolding helmet. Just to reiterate, the cranial remolding helmet is treating the flat spot on the head and ONLY the flat spot on the head (plagiocephaly). The subsequent shortened neck muscle(s) are still shortened and need to be addressed with a stretching and positioning program to ensure equal range of motion on both sides of the neck as well as balanced muscle development. The helmet is not designed to treat the neck or it would have a component that extends beyond the head to the neck as well.
Here is an analogy: If you were in a car accident sustaining injuries of a broken arm and a severe muscle strain in your back, would you not treat your back because you had a cast on your arm? The same applies for the difference between plagiocephaly (head flattening) and torticollis (shortened neck muscles). Because the two conditions coexist 80-90% of the time, they must each be treated in conjunction.
In a nutshell, you must treat the torticollis even if your baby has a helmet. For more information and research backing this claim, refer to the reference section of the book The Truth About Tummy Time. If changes are not made in the pattern of caring for your baby, the shortened neck muscles will not magically resolve on their own.
