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Assessing the Cervical Range of Motion in Infants With Positional Plagiocephaly

Massimiliano Murgia1, Teresa Venditto, Marco Paoloni

  • 1*Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Unit, Azienda Policlinico Umberto I †Board of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Department of Anatomy, Histology, Forensic Medicine and Orthopedics, "Sapienza" University, Rome ‡Don Carlo Gnocchi ONLUS Foundation, Milan, Italy.

The Journal of Craniofacial Surgery
|May 19, 2016
PubMed

Insights

Infants with positional plagiocephaly often have limited neck movement, particularly active rotation. This study confirms reliable methods for measuring cervical range of motion in these infants.

Area of Science:

  • Pediatric physical therapy
  • Neonatal development
  • Musculoskeletal disorders

Background:

  • Positional plagiocephaly is a common condition in infants.
  • Limited cervical range of motion may be associated with positional plagiocephaly.
  • Reliable measurement methods are needed to assess cervical mobility in infants.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To assess active and passive cervical range of motion limitations in infants with positional plagiocephaly.
  • To evaluate the reliability of simple measurement methods for cervical range of motion.
  • To identify specific patterns of cervical motion limitation in affected infants.

Main Methods:

  • Bilateral active and passive cervical rotations and passive lateral flexion were assessed.
  • Intertester and intratester reliability were evaluated by two physicians performing repeated examinations.
  • One hundred nine infants with positional plagiocephaly were included in the analysis.

Main Results:

  • A significant head positional preference was observed (70.7% right, 29.3% left).
  • Cervical rotation and lateral flexion measurements demonstrated reliable intra- and intertester agreement.
  • Active cervical rotation was the most limited motion, affecting over 90% of patients.

Conclusions:

  • Infants with positional plagiocephaly frequently exhibit limitations in cervical active rotation.
  • Passive cervical rotations and lateral flexion were also found to be limited in over 60% of patients.
  • Simple and reliable methods can effectively assess cervical range of motion limitations in infants with positional plagiocephaly.
Abstract

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