Torticollis??

Question

I have just fond out that my 3mnth old baby girl has a very mild case of Torticollis, we had our 1st physio session yesterday and i was shown how to do her exercises to help the muscle in neck as she cannot turn her head all the way to the her right. This was caused by her position while i was pregnant. She didnt have much room to move, it was a matter of touch my skin and u could feel her and her heartbeat with your hand and hear it with your ear. I was wondering if anyone else has had this problem???? i would like to hear how its going?

Answer 1

My son (now 8 mos) had very mild torticollis. He is now finished with his physical therapy and is no longer tilting to the side. Be very vigilant about working on the exercises that the PT gives you. Did the PT suggest any stretching routines for you to do? Also, make sure that you have her looking both ways throughout the day and night - don't always lay her down in the crib or bassinette facing the same way. Try to limit time in swings, car seat, etc., and give lots of tummy time instead. They tend to fall into their position of comfort in swings and bouncy seats. Look into buying a head support for when your baby is in the car seat...the one my PT recommended was made by Kiddopotamus (sold at Babies R US) and is two cream colored cushions that go on either side of the head. This is better than the "built in" head support in the car seat.
Good luck. Most mild cases will work themselves out when your baby gets stronger and starts sitting and crawling.

Answer 2

I can't share any experience with torticollis in an infant, but I had torticollis (also called wry neck) in my late teens/early twenties. It happened suddenly when I was brushing my teeth. I went to the ER with my head tilted to one side, and it was actually kinda humorous.

Basically, I was given some muscle relaxers and the problem had slowly dwindled until it disappeared. It hasn't returned since, but once in a while I still get a little "twinge" in my neck & I think it's about to happen again.

Answer 3

I didn't but two of my best friends babies did have this. Both of them had Early Intervention come out once a week, they did physical therapy exercises with the baby, and taught them exercises they could do during the week. Some were as simple as holding the baby a certain way to feed them their bottle that forced them to turn their head the opposite way.

Anyways, they improved rapidly and by the time they were 9 months they no longer had the problem. Good luck!!