Torticollis, also known as wry neck, is a dystonic condition defined by an abnormal, asymmetrical head or neck position, which may be due to a variety of causes. The term torticollis is derived from the Latin words tortus for twisted and collum for neck.The most common case has no obvious cause, and the pain and difficulty with turning the head usually goes away after a few days, even without treatment in adults. Signs and symptoms
Torticollis is a fixed or dynamic tilt, rotation, with flexion or extension of the head and/or neck. The type of torticollis can be described depending on the positions of the head and neck. laterocollis: the head is tipped toward the shoulder
rotational torticollis: the head rotates along the longitudinal  axis
anterocollis: forward flexion of the head and neck
retrocollis: hyperextension of head and neck backwardA combination of these movements may often be observed. Torticollis can be a disorder in itself as well as a symptom in other conditions. Other symptoms include:
Neck pain
Occasional formation of a mass
Thickened or tight sternocleidomastoid muscle
Tenderness on the cervical spine
Tremor in head
Unequal shoulder heights
Decreased neck movement

Causes
A multitude of conditions may lead to the development of torticollis including: muscular fibrosis, congenital spine abnormalities, or toxic or traumatic brain injury. A rough categorization discerns between congenital torticollis and acquired torticollis.Other categories include:
Osseous
Traumatic
CNS/PNS
Ocular
Non-muscular soft tissue
Spasmodic
Drug induced
Oral ties (lip and tongue ties)

Congenital muscular torticollis
The congenital muscular torticollis is the most common torticollis which is present at birth. The cause of congenital muscular torticollis is unclear.
Spasmodic torticollis
Torticollis with recurrent, but transient contraction of the muscles of the neck and especially of the sternocleidomastoid, is called spasmodic torticollis. Synonyms are "intermittent torticollis", "cervical dystonia" or "idiopathic cervical dystonia", depending on cause. Trochlear torticollis
Torticollis may be unrelated to the sternocleidomastoid muscle, instead caused by damage to the trochlear nerve (fourth cranial nerve), which supplies the superior oblique muscle of the eye. The superior oblique muscle is involved in depression, abduction, and intorsion of the eye. When the trochlear nerve is damaged, the eye is extorted because the superior oblique is not functioning. The affected person will have vision problems unless they turn their head away from the side that is affected, causing intorsion of the eye and balancing out the extorsion of the eye. This can be diagnosed by the Bielschowsky test, also called the head-tilt test, where the head is turned to the affected side. A positive test occurs when the affected eye elevates, seeming to float up. Anatomy
The underlying anatomical distortion causing torticollis is a shortened sternocleidomastoid muscle. This is the muscle of the neck that originates at the sternum and clavicle and inserts on the mastoid process of the temporal bone on the same side. There are two sternocleidomastoid muscles in the human body and when they both contract, the neck is flexed. The main blood supply for these muscles come from the occipital artery, superior thyroid artery, transverse scapular artery and transverse cervical artery.