Indian journal of orthopaedics
June 8, 2026 · via Europe PMC
Late but Not Too Late: Predictors of Full Neck Motion Following Surgical Correction of Congenital Muscular Torticollis in School-Going Children.
Rahul, Singh V, Gowda AKS, Arjun C, Gupta S, Anand U.
AI summary — for doctors, generated from the abstract only
Surgical sternocleidomastoid release restored full neck motion in two-thirds of school-age children with congenital muscular torticollis.
What was studied
A retrospective cohort of 44 children over age 5 with congenital muscular torticollis undergoing open SCM release, with at least 36 months of follow-up.
Key findings
- Full ROM was achieved in 66% at a median of 4 months
- Each 10-degree increase in preoperative rotation deficit reduced odds by 30% (OR 0.70)
- Physiotherapy compliance of 80% or more increased odds more than five-fold (OR 5.10)
- Younger age was also a predictor; complications were minimal
Clinical relevance
Suggests surgery remains worthwhile in older children with CMT and highlights rehabilitation adherence, based on a small retrospective cohort.
Who should care
Limitations
Small retrospective single-center cohort.
Even school-age children with torticollis can regain full neck motion after surgery, especially with good physiotherapy adherence.
This is an AI-generated summary of the published abstract, not a clinical recommendation. It may not reflect the full text or subsequent updates — verify against the original source before acting on it.
Abstract
Objective
To identify predictors of full cervical range of motion (ROM) following surgical sternocleidomastoid (SCM) release in school-age children with congenital muscular torticollis (CMT).
Design
Retrospective cohort study.
Setting
Tertiary referral pediatric orthopedic center.
Participants
44 children older than 5 years with ultrasonography-confirmed CMT, ≥ 6 months of failed physiotherapy, and ≥ 36 months of follow-up (median age 7.6 years, 57% boys).
Interventions
Standardized open surgical SCM release.
Main outcome measures
Primary outcome was full ROM at 36 months, defined as active rotation and lateral flexion within 5° of age norms and absence of head tilt. Eight pre-specified variables were assessed using logistic regression.
Results
Full ROM was achieved in 29 children (66, 95% CI 51-79%) at a median of 4 months postoperatively. Mean lateral bending improved from 18.2° ± 4.6° to 36.9° ± 3.8° at 36 months (p p = 0.032), each 10° increase in preoperative rotation deficit reduced odds by 30% (OR 0.70, 95% CI 0.55-0.90; p = 0.006), and physiotherapy compliance ≥ 80% increased odds more than five-fold (OR 5.10, 95% CI 1.60-16.2; p = 0.006). The model showed good performance (AUC 0.85, Hosmer-Lemeshow p = 0.71). Complications were minimal (one superficial infection, one revision).
Conclusion
Surgical SCM release provides durable correction in most school-age children with CMT. Younger age, smaller preoperative rotation deficit, and strong physiotherapy adherence predict optimal recovery.
Supplementary information
The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s43465-026-01846-7.
DOI
10.1007/s43465-026-01846-7
PMID
42558657
Research metadata (titles, abstracts, authors, publication dates) is sourced from Europe PMC, which aggregates content from PubMed/MEDLINE, PubMed Central, and other providers under the U.S. National Library of Medicine (NLM/NCBI). NLM does not claim copyright on abstracts; the original journal publishers or authors may hold rights to the full articles. AI-generated summaries are derived only from the abstract, never the full text, and are always labeled as AI-generated.
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