Torticollis -Does it go away on its own?

futuredoctor ↓

Tue, Oct 15 2024, 6:11 am

Has anyone had an infant with torticollis, and if yes how did you treat it? Did it go away on its own?

My 5 week old has it. The doctor showed me some exercises to do a few times a day to strengthen his weak muscle. And ofc I know it’s important to encourage him to turn his head to the other side while sleeping, eating, tummy time etc. But sometimes it’s such a fight. He had a cold and wasn’t eating or sleeping well as it was. The last thing I wanted to do was make him more uncomfortable and make us both more cranky and tired.

I’m having guilty feelings for not doing more. I know the risks of brain damage ch”vsh if not treated properly and it really scares me! Should I go AMA and lay him to sleep on his stomach instead of back? Any other tips?

Dr said he will refer for PT if not improved by 2 months of age. In the meantime, curious to hear from others who’ve had this experience. Did your infant’s torticollis go away? If yes by what age? And please say if you did anything to correct it. TIA!

lucky14

Tue, Oct 15 2024, 6:53 am

Do you live in the US?
If so you can possibly get early intervention services for free. Could be helpful to have another person in addition to your doctor for a resource.

Two of my kids had this but not very extreme. I did the exercises and made sure to turn their heads and propped with blankets/towels while in the bouncy seat so they didn’t turn the “wrong” way. Yeah it was annoying and I felt bad bothering them.

I also was curious if anyone’s child eventually had a tilted head permanently from this.

I know one adult whose head tilts and leans forward a bit and have wondered if it’s due to this or something else.

amother

Honey

Tue, Oct 15 2024, 7:08 am

I don’t know if it was officially torticollis, but I remember constantly turning one of my children’s heads to the other side when they slept, and putting objects on the other side to turn his gaze. Our pediatrician had advised that. I don’t remember which child it was but thank G-d none of them have any symptoms of torticollis.
Unless you don’t trust your doctor for whatever reason, it seems that he has a good approach, and it doesn’t seem like you should be nervous about listening to him.

amother

Hibiscus

Tue, Oct 15 2024, 7:13 am

I took my daughter for physio and she discovered the cause for the torticollis. It doesn't appear in a vacuum. In my daughter there was a slight maladjustment in the neck vertebrae which the orthopedist massaged back into place and then we did exercises to strengthen the muscles. There was another kid there who they found there was a weakness in the entire left side and worked on the whole side. It's worth the effort of dealing with it while it's still a small problem.

amother

Sienna

Tue, Oct 15 2024, 7:14 am

OT here, it won’t go away on its own because it is a combination of muscle tightness on one side and muscle weakness on the other side. You need to do the exercises to loosen the tight muscle to allow for freedom of movement which will also strengthen the other side. Much better to take care of it sooner. Babies just grow more resistant to the exercises.

amother

Honeysuckle ↓

Tue, Oct 15 2024, 7:21 am

Marked improvement after a single session of craniosacral therapy. Came and went for a bit after, but with tongue tie release and more cst it went away for good.

amother

Seashell

Tue, Oct 15 2024, 7:40 am

A couple of my kids had marked side preferences and small flat spots as infants. I did exercises I found online and encouraged them to look the other way, and BH it resolved. They weren't officially diagnosed with torticullis or referred to PT though.

↑ futuredoctor ↓

Tue, Oct 15 2024, 9:11 am

amother Hibiscus wrote:

That’s what I’m worried about- that I need to take him to a specialist and that exercise alone won’t resolve it. He does have a knot /hard lump on his neck on the weaker side. I heard that was common with torticollis. But maybe I should get it checked out

amother

Springgreen ↓

Tue, Oct 15 2024, 9:20 am

amother Honeysuckle wrote:

Marked improvement after a single session of craniosacral therapy. Came and went for a bit after, but with tongue tie release and more cst it went away for good.

Same experience here, with 2 kids. BH can't tell anymore. 2 other kids had it. One got better by following the exercises and tons of tummy time, in small increments throughout the day, holding your hand down on the baby's diaper so they don't use their legs, it forces the baby to work their upper body muscles.

The other one had terrible torticollis but no tongue tie (yes, I know how to find it and I asked cst and lc and both said no). A few sessions of cst and it was all resolved.

And for the one who asked, I know 2 kids who are 10 and 12 who still have a noticeable tilt.

↑ futuredoctor ↓

Tue, Oct 15 2024, 10:00 am

amother Springgreen wrote:

Thanks I will try holding his diaper down. How do I get him craniosacral therapy? I assume ask his pcp for referral and then what?

Also he doesn’t have tongue tie AFAIK just curious what the connection is between that and torticollis?

amother

↑ Springgreen ↓

Tue, Oct 15 2024, 10:06 am

futuredoctor wrote:

Cst is not usually covered by insurance. You can post your location here and maybe someone can give a recommendation.
How are you sure that he doesn't have tongue tie?
The connection is that the if there's any amount of attachment under the tongue, it's pulling the tongue, which is connected to the neck. It's usually coming from tension even further down, like possibly even in the hips. That's why the best treatment involves aligning and strengthening the whole upper body.

amother

Lightgray

Tue, Oct 15 2024, 10:14 am

PT for about a year, until they said he was fixed.

Six years later I took him for OT for something else and she told me he has torticollis (again?) And that if you don't do exercises to keep it away, it comes back.

I didn't do anything about it the second time.

Eta that fwiu, torticollis alone is not enough to qualify a baby for ei. At least in nj.

amother

Hydrangea

Tue, Oct 15 2024, 10:32 am

With PT and making my son look the other way helped.

If his tilt it to the left always make him look to the right. Stand on his right and talk to him there.

amother

Aster

Tue, Oct 15 2024, 11:45 am

My son had it. We did PT starting when he was 3 months old and probably till 17 months, which at that point his head was good already for a while but we kept therapy until he was walking.
It never came back.