title: Assessing the Cervical Range of Motion in Infants With Positional Plagiocephaly.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To determine if infants with positional plagiocephaly have limitations of active and passive cervical range of motion measured with simple and reliable methods.
  
  
  METHODS
  The examiners assessed bilateral active and passive cervical rotations and passive cervical lateral flexion. Cervical assessment was performed twice by 2 different physicians to assess intertester reliability. To assess intratester reliability the first investigator performed a second examination 48 hours after the first one.
  
  
  RESULTS
  One-hundred nine subjects were analyzed; 70.7% of the sample had head positional preference on the right, while 29.3% had head positional preference on the left (χ 35.52, P <0.001). Cervical rotations and lateral flexion showed reliable levels of agreement for intra and intertester reliability.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The most limited range of motion in infants with positional plagiocephaly was cervical active rotation which affected more than 90% of patients. Passive cervical rotations and lateral flexion were limited in more than 60% of patients.
authors.affiliation: *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.
authors.forename: Massimiliano
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Murgia
authors.forename: Teresa
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Venditto
authors.forename: Marco
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Paoloni
authors.forename: Brunilda
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Hodo
authors.forename: Rosaria
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Alcuri
authors.forename: Andrea
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bernetti
authors.forename: Valter
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Santilli
authors.forename: Massimiliano
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Mangone
mesh_terms: D002574:Cervical Vertebrae / Q000503:physiopathology*; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D019416:Head Movements / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008297:Male; D049068:Plagiocephaly, Nonsynostotic / Q000503:physiopathology*; D011446:Prospective Studies; D016059:Range of Motion, Articular / Q000502:physiology*; D015203:Reproducibility of Results