A 35 year old lady presented to the clinic with torticollis.
(Torticollis is a fixed side bending of the neck. The muscles spasm at one side of the neck and hold your ear close to your shoulder)
There was no known cause, just a gradual worsening of the torticollis for over one year.
Treatment
Treatment is to stretch the muscle on the contracted side and strengthen the muscle on the over stretched side. This is achieved using a variety of techniques such as deep tissue massage, Muscle Energy Techniques, Stretching and strengthening exercises.
Further examination
Radio-graphs of the cervical spine should be obtained to rule out obvious bony abnormality.
An MRI should be considered if there is concern about structural problems or other conditions.
Medical treatment
If treatment fails to help, then a muscle relaxant can be injected into the affected muscle.
This is a presentation of torticollis in an adult. The presentation and treatment is different for infants.
For more information on torticollis visit http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Torticollis