Congenital muscular torticollis

What it means

A congenital form of torticollis resulting from shortening of the sternocleidomastoid muscle and leading to a limited range of motion in both rotation and lateral bending.

Congenital muscular torticollis is thought to result from injury to the sternocleidomastoid muscle during birth trauma, resulting in fibrosis and unilateral shortening of the sternocleidomastoid muscle. Congenital muscular torticollis is thus etiologically and phenotypically distinct from spasmodic torticollis.

Rare diseases that can present with this9

The range is how often this sign appears among people diagnosed with each disease — it is not a probability of having any of them. Many of these signs also occur in common, non-rare conditions. A sign on this page is a conversation to have with a clinician, not a conclusion.

Part of the broader category

Also called: Torticollis, congenital