What is a perinatal cause of Congenital Muscular Torticollis (CMT)?

Congenital muscular torticollis (CMT) is a condition characterized by limited neck motion and an abnormal head position in infants, typically caused by muscular tightness. One of the significant perinatal factors linked to CMT is birth trauma, which can occur during a breech delivery.

When an infant is delivered in a breech position, the method of delivery can result in stress on the neck muscles, leading to trauma and subsequently causing muscle tightness or injury. This trauma can manifest as the infant presenting with a head tilt or restricted neck movement, typical features of CMT.

Other factors, while they may contribute to or correlate with the development of CMT, do not serve as direct perinatal causes. For instance, muscle rupture and positional preference are not classified as perinatal causes since they are often related to external conditions post-delivery or other non-traumatic factors. Similarly, head tilt in utero is a manifestation of the condition rather than a primary cause arising from the perinatal period. Hence, recognizing birth trauma associated with breech delivery as a causative factor in CMT emphasizes the impact of specific delivery scenarios on the infant’s muscular development.