It’s common to see your baby’s head tilted to one side. This can be a symptom of torticollis. Every 3 in 100 babies have torticollis during birth or develop it in the first few months. Torticollis in babies can be treated easily in most cases and so, as a parent, you don’t need to get tensed about it. In this article, let’s see what is torticollis, its causes, symptoms, and treatment.
When a baby’s head begins to tilt to one side or when they show a preference for looking in one particular direction, parents may begin to feel concerned. Torticollis is relatively common in infants. Some studies indicate that three out of every one hundred newborns are affected. Fortunately, infant torticollis is treatable in the majority of cases.
In This Article
- What is Torticollis?
- What are the Causes of Torticollis in Babies?
- Symptoms of Torticollis in Babies
- How is Torticollis in Babies Diagnosed?
- How is Infant Torticollis Treated?
- What are the Home Remedies for Torticollis in Babies?
- Does Recovery Take Time?
What is Torticollis?
Torticollis, as mentioned earlier, is when a baby’s neck becomes stiff and hard to turn. This can happen at the time of birth, which is called Congenital Muscular Torticollis, or in a few month’s time after the baby is born then it’s called Acquired Torticollis.
What are the Causes of Torticollis in Babies?
Now that you know what is torticollis, as a parent you should also understand what are the causes:
1. Congenital Muscular Torticollis
- One of the main reasons for congenital muscular torticollis is that the baby’s head may be in an abnormal position in the womb.
- At the time of delivery, if the baby was pulled out with more pressure with the use of forceps or a vacuum device this can lead to stretching of neck and head muscles.
2. Acquired Torticollis
- Certain cervical spine abnormalities also result in torticollis
- Sleeping in an awkward position
Symptoms Of Torticollis In Babies
A baby with torticollis acts like other normal babies, but you can see the difference when it comes to head movements:
1. Symptoms of Congenital Muscular Torticollis in Babies
- If your baby is in breastfeeding age, then the baby will have trouble while feeding at one side.
- Baby will find it hard to turn head and will prefer following you with eyes.
- Torticollis baby symptoms also include limited movement in the neck and head (especially on any one side).
- The presence of a tiny lump (pea size) on the neck.
- Chin and head tilted to the opposite side.
2. Symptoms of Acquired Torticollis in Babies
Acquired torticollis is caused by certain injuries or viral infections and it can lead to these signs and symptoms in babies, along with head titled to one side:
- The baby will keep throwing up.
- Minimum head movement on one side.
How is Torticollis in Babies Diagnosed?
There are few steps that the doctor will follow to diagnose if your baby has torticollis or not. But before that, the doctor will ask you about the symptoms and their time period. The doctor may ask you these questions:
- Age of your baby.
- The time period from when you start seeing symptoms.
- Does the baby have a fever?
- Is there a lump on the neck?
- Has your baby undergone any kind of surgery?
In conditions of higher symptoms doctor will also conduct a physical examination to test the movements in muscles. Torticollis newborn diagnosis can also be done by x-ray and MRI(Magnetic Resonance Imaging), which can let us know if the baby is having any other abnormality.
How Is Infant Torticollis Treated?
Torticollis in babies can get cured at home in some cases. But if it is not getting better, then seeing a child doctor will be the best option.
- Infant torticollis treatment by the doctor will include antibiotics if it is caused by any type of infection.
- There are customized helmets made for babies, which are also used as a treatment to cure torticollis.
- Some physical therapy will also be suggested by the doctors, which you can do every day to help your baby in this condition.
- The doctor may also advise some neck stretching exercises so that the tightened sternocleidomastoid muscle can be loosened and the weaker muscle can be strengthened. These may be the exercises the doctor may advise.
Torticollis Baby Exercise
- Find a hard surface or put a carpet on the floor.
- Put your baby in a side-lying position.
- Put your arm between the baby’s neck and shoulder.
- Gently move the neck away from the shoulder with one hand.
- With another hand, move the shoulder downwards.
- Help your baby to a sitting position.
- Slowly try to stretch the neck from side to side.
What are the Home Remedies for Torticollis in Babies?
Other than the infant torticollis exercises suggested by the doctor, there are a few more things that you can do for a speedy recovery of your baby:
- Use toys and put them on the side which is less favored by the baby.
- While feeding, keep the spoon or the bottle in the position so that baby would move the neck in that direction.
- Gentle massage can also be a great remedy.
- Let your baby play more with the feet and hands. This will help in relaxing the muscles of the neck area.
- Put your baby on your tummy for some time. In this position, the baby will tend to move the head from side to side and up-down, resulting in toning the muscles.
Does Recovery Take Time?
Torticollis can be normal as well as a serious problem. If you start helping your baby with positioning and exercise, it can get fully recovered in 6 months. However, certain torticollis may take a longer time, up to 1 year, depending on the tightness of the muscles.
Acute torticollis, which is caused by bone problems or muscular problems, will however require surgery to lengthen the tendon.
You don’t need to panic if you see indications of torticollis in your baby. It is common and most of the time it is just the muscle stiffness that goes easily after treatment. When it comes to your baby, it is always better to see the doctor as soon as you see symptoms of a stiff neck. The quicker you will go to a doctor, the faster the recovery .
Also Read: Early Signs or Symptoms of Cerebral Palsy
