Anyone heard of torticollis?

[petster]

Hi guys...

I'm doing a bit of home diagosing here, but I think my baby has torticollis. According to Robin Barker in her book "Baby Love" torticollis is when "baby constantly holds their head to one side while always looking to the other, and is especially noticeable around 3 months when they have good head control". This sounds like my daughter! Even lying on her back her head is tilted on an odd angle. She will turn her head, but always favours the one side. At her 6 week check up I was told to massage her neck at each nappy change, which I did... She's 3 months old now, and it seems more noticeable. Just wondering if anyone else has experienced this... Has anyone been referred to a specialist for this? Or have people found that it has corrected itself over time?

Thanks in advance for the help!

Cheers!

[willsmum]

Physios or chiros who specialise in babies can help with stretches. A good GP can also advise or your paediatrician. My little man had this (mildly) and after about 10 sessions with a chiro plus home stretches, no problem. But you HAVE to be taught by a professional how to do the stretches properly and safely. Good luck.

[mumofethan]

here is a link from the Child and Youth Health site about this.

http://www.cyh.com.au/HealthTopics/HealthTopicDetails.aspx?p=114&np=304&id=2296

[petster]

Thanks for the help guys!

Cheers!

[rubyred]

hi there!
my little girl was diagnosed with torticollis at 3 weeks which is really early, she is now 4 months and much improved. the chn thought it was because she was in the same place invitro for 8 weeks before birth. she held her head more to the left than the right and was stiff when i tried to move her head. we were referred to a physio and given floor exercises to do at tummy time, put a rolled towel under the chest and put toys to the side they don't prefer to encourage them to turn their head, lots of holding upright to strengthen it etc. the torticollis also resulted in a flat spot on one side of her head after sleeping with her head one way so we turned her regularly to where the light was and put the mobile on another side so she had to move her head. it takes patience, especially when she screams when we extend her to do things she doesn't want to!
We had a daughter 2 years ago who also had torticollis but a bigger than average head and we didn't do nearly as much tummy time as we have with daughter #2.
i don't want to alarm you, but because of this she was unable to lift her head and when in her cot she rolled and we lost her to SIDS. Although not the actual cause of her passing i am sure it had a lot to do with it as she was unable to help herself. my advice is to see your doctor and get a referral to a pyhsio or paediatrician.
good luck ;)

[wattle]

Hi. I have just started seeing a chiro who specialises in pregnant women and babies. (I had that damn pelvic instability during pregancy & didn't go away after the birth.) He is fantastic, and was saying the other day that many babies get injuries during childbirth - especially to the neck. Often they only need one treatment and they fully recover.

I'd highly recommend finding a chiro or osteopath who specialises in babies, at least for an opinion.

I'm in Melbourne, but I'm sure there are some in your state. Goodluck.