torticollis

In medicine, a contracture of the sternomastoid muscle in the neck, usually on one side, causing an abnormal posture of the head, or ‘wryneck’. It may be caused in infants by birth injury. In longstanding cases the face and skull develop asymmetrically because of the abnormal pull of the muscle. Gentle manual stretching may be effective in straightening the neck, but in established cases surgical division of the sternomastoid muscle is necessary.

Torticollis of acute onset occurs in childhood as a result of trauma to the neck or local inflammation, such as tonsillitis, producing muscle spasm. In adults the muscle spasm is most usually due to irritation of nerves by an abnormal cervical disc, and occasionally by infection in the neck. Treatment consists of treating any underlying pathology and wearing a cervical collar.