Associations Between Congenital Muscular Torticollis Severity and Physical Therapy Episode

Purpose: To determine how physical therapy utilization varies with Congenital Muscular Torticollis (CMT) Severity Grading Scale, considering episode of care and clinical practice guidelines. Methods: A 3-year retrospective medical record review was conducted. Data were collected for 81 infants receiving physical therapy for CMT. Sample and service characteristics are described; 46 complete records (infants 6 months or younger) were analyzed to determine how physical therapy utilization varied across severity grades. Results and Conclusions: Of the 46 infants with complete care episodes, half had fully resolved all asymmetries. Units billed, episode duration, and total visits each increased across CMT severity grades 1 to 3. Cervical rotation restrictions correlated with total units billed, indicating a positive relationship between CMT severity and service utilization. What This Adds to the Evidence: This study supports that as CMT severity increases, physical therapy utilization increases for grades 1 to 3 of the 2018 CMT Severity Grading Scale.