M43.6 is the authoritative medical code for Torticollis. This classification is used in medical billing and clinical recording to specify the clinical criteria for torticollis (ICD-10-CM M43.6), ensuring healthcare documentation aligns with 2026 federal coding standards.
Billing Status: YES. This is a valid, specific, and billable ICD-10-CM reference.
Official Registry Overview & Definition
Torticollis is a billable ICD-10-CM diagnosis code M43.6. Excludes1 (not coded here): congenital (sternomastoid) torticollis Q68.0; current injury - see Injury, of spine, by body region; ocular torticollis R29.891; psychogenic torticollis F45.8; spasmodic torticollis G24.3; torticollis due to birth injury P15.2; congenital spondylolysis and spondylolisthesis Q76.2; hemivertebra Q76.3-Q76.4; Klippel-Feil syndrome Q76.1; lumbarization and sacralization Q76.4; platyspondylisis Q76.4; spina bifida occulta Q76.0; spinal curvature in osteoporosis M80.-; spinal curvature in Paget's disease of bone osteitis deformans.
Official Tabular Instructional Notes
Sequencing, inclusion, and exclusion notes published for M43.6 in the official ICD-10-CM tabular list.
Excludes1 — Not Coded Here
Conditions that can never be reported with this code; the two are mutually exclusive.
- congenital (sternomastoid) torticollis Q68.0
- current injury - see Injury, of spine, by body region
- ocular torticollis R29.891
- psychogenic torticollis F45.8
- spasmodic torticollis G24.3
- torticollis due to birth injury P15.2
- congenital spondylolysis and spondylolisthesis Q76.2
- hemivertebra Q76.3-Q76.4
- Klippel-Feil syndrome Q76.1
- lumbarization and sacralization Q76.4
- platyspondylisis Q76.4
- spina bifida occulta Q76.0
- spinal curvature in osteoporosis M80.-
- spinal curvature in Paget's disease of bone osteitis deformans
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) & Clinical Guidance
What can't be coded together with M43.6?
Per Excludes1 instructions, M43.6 must not be reported with: congenital (sternomastoid) torticollis (Q68.0); current injury - see Injury, of spine, by body region; ocular torticollis (R29.891); psychogenic torticollis (F45.8).
Codes in This Family (40)
Official ICD-10-CM classifications in the same code family as M43.6, with their registry titles.
- M43 — Other deforming dorsopathies
- M43.0 — Spondylolysis
- M43.00 — Spondylolysis, site unspecified
- M43.01 — Spondylolysis, occipito-atlanto-axial region
- M43.02 — Spondylolysis, cervical region
- M43.03 — Spondylolysis, cervicothoracic region
- M43.04 — Spondylolysis, thoracic region
- M43.05 — Spondylolysis, thoracolumbar region
- M43.06 — Spondylolysis, lumbar region
- M43.07 — Spondylolysis, lumbosacral region
- M43.08 — Spondylolysis, sacral and sacrococcygeal region
- M43.09 — Spondylolysis, multiple sites in spine
- M43.1 — Spondylolisthesis
- M43.10 — Spondylolisthesis, site unspecified
- M43.11 — Spondylolisthesis, occipito-atlanto-axial region
- M43.12 — Spondylolisthesis, cervical region
- M43.13 — Spondylolisthesis, cervicothoracic region
- M43.14 — Spondylolisthesis, thoracic region
- M43.15 — Spondylolisthesis, thoracolumbar region
- M43.16 — Spondylolisthesis, lumbar region
- M43.17 — Spondylolisthesis, lumbosacral region
- M43.18 — Spondylolisthesis, sacral and sacrococcygeal region
- M43.19 — Spondylolisthesis, multiple sites in spine
- M43.2 — Fusion of spine
- M43.20 — Fusion of spine, site unspecified
- M43.21 — Fusion of spine, occipito-atlanto-axial region
- M43.22 — Fusion of spine, cervical region
- M43.23 — Fusion of spine, cervicothoracic region
- M43.24 — Fusion of spine, thoracic region
- M43.25 — Fusion of spine, thoracolumbar region
- M43.26 — Fusion of spine, lumbar region
- M43.27 — Fusion of spine, lumbosacral region
- M43.28 — Fusion of spine, sacral and sacrococcygeal region
- M43.3 — Recurrent atlantoaxial dislocation with myelopathy
- M43.4 — Other recurrent atlantoaxial dislocation
- M43.5 — Other recurrent vertebral dislocation
- M43.5X — Other recurrent vertebral dislocation
- M43.5X2 — Other recurrent vertebral dislocation, cervical region
- M43.5X3 — Other recurrent vertebral dislocation, cervicothoracic region
- M43.5X4 — Other recurrent vertebral dislocation, thoracic region
Indexed Clinical Terms (6)
Clinical term phrases from the official ICD-10-CM Index to Diseases and Injuries that map to this code.
- Disease, diseased, Grisel's
- Grisel's disease
- Nasopharyngeal, torticollis
- Rheumatic (acute) (subacute), torticollis
- Torticollis (intermittent) (spastic)
- Torticollis (intermittent) (spastic), rheumatic
Related Codes & Numerical Sequence (Crawl Map)
Search engines and indexers are advised to traverse adjacent medical codes in this sub-chapter range to find correlated diagnoses or therapeutic procedures: