Torticollis / Stiff Neck / Wryneck / Cervical Dystonia

I am 16 and have had wry neck for my entire life; I believe it is due to birth trauma, but the cause is no longer important to me. My head is noticeably tilted to one side and the muscle on the side of my neck is constantly taut. My face has also developed asymmetrically, and as a 16 year old, all of these symptoms bother me; I have only just started searching for ways to fix this, as I became more self conscious, and have received very vague answers, with most people only having experience with treating wry neck in young children, saying things like "see a chiropractor and hope for the best" or that surgery may most likely be required. I was wondering if anybody could tell me if this sort of surgery would be covered by health insurance, and also if surgery to fix the asymmetry of my face could be covered, as it's gotten to the point where I look in the mirror and my facial features look as if they have slid diagonally to accommodate my tilted head.

can I get an ICD-9 code for this disease and a cpt code as well

I am a 27 year old female and have been dignosed with wry neck today, my doctor isn't very interested in his patients and just shooed me out of his office with no pain killers or any information on this diagnosis. So i wanted to know is this a life long thing or can it be treated so it goes away???? does it gradualy get worse????

I am a 52 year old male, and have had torticollis for about 11 years. Nothing has worked for me including botox injections, chiropractic, massage therapy, accupuncture, and all the typical drugs and even herbals. I still go to work everyday, but it is getting harder and harder to deal with. Recently I read about Microvascular decompression surgery, and it has really gave me hope. It seems to have a high cure rate, and I am going to ask my neurologist to have an MRI. I wonder why he has never told me of this? It seems to be that an artery is pushing tight up against the spinal accessory nerve, so they move it away and put a little cushion between them. This sounds promising to me, and seems to make sense. I wonder if the doctors have been looking at things from a "symptom" point of view all these years? What I mean is that, they say there is a chemical problem steming from the basil ganglia region of the brain. But maybe the chemical is being produced because of the nerve being irritated, and the brain is just doing it's normal thing not knowing the difference. It's kinda like a thyroid problem. Anyone out there had this opperation, or know of any other facts about this? Thank you in advance for any help.

I am 42 years old and played the violin for about 30 years. I played 9 hours a week plus practice. I have had torticollis since I was 16 years old and after about 30 years old it has gotten much worse. Botox A and B do not work anymore, so my only option is to take a combination of Clonazapam [Klonopin] .5 mg and Wal-Act which you get at Walgreens in the pharmacy. These two work together to take away the symptoms of pulling to the side but Clonazapam has some long term side effects. I have never had any pain with my now spastic torticollis but my neck does pull to the side and it is very embarrasing without the medicine I cannot look at people for more than a few seconds but the medicine takes away the pulling to the side completely most of the time. I take these two together about two hours before I go out or have to do something like sing or speak in front of people. The effects last about 6 hours after taken and you will get a little drowsy with these so be careful. I hope this helps someone and if anyone knows any better treatment, please let me know. I have tried chiropractic and physical therapy many times and does not help at all or makes it worse.

Hi. My daughter was born with spastic torticollas, due to a neurological condition. It has grown worse in recent years and now we are being told she needs botox injections. We simply cannot afford these injections, as insurance doesn't cover the entire cost. She has also had a kidney transplant and the use of herbal medicines may interfere with her antirejection medications. I am at my wits end with this.....I want to help with the pain of the torticollas, but don't want to compromise my daughter's health either. Not certain what to do???? Would acupuncture be a good alternative? Any other suggestions? Thank you.

Hi there,



My uncle is a doctor in pakistan. He has been diagnosed torticollas. we are having all possible treatment in here including that most famous injection but he feels better only two day and third day he is in worse condition. I want to know if there is any other possible treatment that can be done. ?



Please advice.



Adeel Khan

there's another type called as the spasmodic torticollis

I am 15 years old and have had neck pain for many years. I found a lump on my neck and while reasearching this found out about this disease. Different doctors have told me i have an limited movement of my neck, one shoulder is elevated, a tilted head, a lump, and neck pain. Considering I have seen many doctors and a physical therapist, I don't know why this hasn't been diagosed. Could having an ambilical cord around my neck at birth be a cause?

My daughter who is 5 has been diagnosed with torticollis and the doctor recommended activities such as swim, dance, gymnastics and ice hockey to assist in helping the condition. Does this make sense to anyone?? Any help would be appreciated