Torticolis

My daugther too had tortcolis but wasn't diagnosed until she was about 6 months. We had to do the helmet etc. She also arched her back. She was a month premature so they had blamed everything on that. At 6 months they realized it was more. The arching they said was because of the fact she was not in a fetal position since I am so tall and she was born so early and she hated her stomach. We had PT for her neck and to teach her to crawl and walk. We took her to the Chiropracter a few times also, mine recommended because of the sunction they used to get her out. She is almost 10 years old now. She is very active no visible signs except that she still turns her head to watch TV or sometimes even to see the basketball hoop if she is tired. We did all the tests with the eye doctors and there is no problems, it all stems back to the comfort zone of the Torticolis. We constantly remind her about the tilt which she then fixes but she slips right back into it the next time. So whatever you can do now for your grandson, I would highly recommend it. We were never told about doing any exercises at home, but I think that would have helped. She had PT 3 times a week. Good luck!

They diagnosed my daughter with torticolis when she was 3 months old and wanted me to take her to therapy. I took her to the chiropractor instead. He adjusted her neck. Then I took her to therapy and they said there is nothing wrong with her. LoL

If your daughter decides to try a chiropractor, make sure it's one that has experience with babies because they are adjusted differently than adults.

Betty,

I do not know anything about torticolis, but it sounds like your grandson should have a developmental screening completed. It is recommended that all children have "1 before 2", the "1" being a developmental screening and the "2" being two years old. This screening can be done at any age, and the younger a child is when problems are caught the more beneficial interventions are. I am a special education teacher and can always tell the students that have had early intervention. I would talk with your daughter about this. Her doctor should be able to let her know where she can go for a developmental screening. In my area, there is a developmental preschool that does them. They are completed free of charge in accoradnce with Part C Early Intervention of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.
This would help get you some answers and there would be support for you and your daughter and family.
Best wishes,
M.

I didn't read all the other responses so I apologize if I'm repeating anyone else. My oldest was born 6 weeks early by c-section. He had the problems you described, and we took him to a chiropractor. She didn't actually do any adjustments or anything, but she held him by his bottom and tummy and let him move how he wanted. I wouldn't suggest trying this yourself, but after the first visit we noticed a drastic improvement. He ended up going in for about 4 or 5 sessions, and after that you'd never know he had a problem. I have no idea why that worked, but I would swear by it now! His doctor wanted us to put him through all sorts of physical therapy, but even he said that wasn't necessary after seeing the results!

Hi, my 3 month old daughter had similar issues with her neck up until just recently. She also arches her back quite a bit. Our doctors are evaluating her for cerebral palsy because of the arching and some other things that she has struggled with since birth (poor suck, low muscle tone, etc). I am hoping my daughter's arching is acid reflux - she is also on medicine for acid reflux and while she doesn't spit up or anything she definitely seems to have more arching when she has gas or needs to burp. If your grandson is otherwise reaching milestones (holding head, grabbing things, etc), don't let my post and reference to cerebral palsy worry you but I did want to share my experience. I would say the torticolis is one thing, which he will grow out of with therapy, and the arching is likely gas or acid reflux. Good luck and I would love to know what you find out....

I don't have a child with torticolis but I agree with the other mommies on the chiropractor idea. I have taken my son to our chiro and found out that his upper spine/neck was misaligned and may have been causing his ear infections. Since we have been going we haven't had any problems. I am not touting a cure all but if the spine isn't aligned the brain can't communicate with the body correctly. A medical doctor will almost never tell you to get the spine aligned, they only generaly treat a symptom not the cause. It's a non invasive, no pain, no drugs, alternative with many benefits. Just my two cents from someone who has seen the benefits of chiropractic care.

I would definitely talk to the doc about it. But...

My 4-month-old DS2 arches his back if he needs to burp. He doesn't have reflux or anything (though I did have to give up all dairy or he arched & cried fairly often). I sometimes have to work pretty hard to get him to bend, but I've found that if I bend him into a sitting position I can usually get out any residual burps. And after that he's usually fine. And much easier to hold. ;)

Best of luck!

I don't know about the back arching, some of the other comments might be more helpful, but my son was diagnosed with Torticolis when he was 4 months old. We started doing the exercises, but didn't see much improvement. At his 6 month check-up the doctor noticed that his left eye was a little out of alignment. We were sent to a eye doctor who noticed that his eye being out of alignment was causing him to turn his head to focus. A little before his first birthday he had a simple eye surgery to just more a muscle in his eye. His torticolis is virtually gone now. Just another thing to consider.
It is hard when a mom thinks someone is teling her that her baby is less than perfect, but just reassure her that this is nothing that she caused and is treatable with time. Good luck!

J.

I agree w/Mariah- the birthing process is so traumatic on the body- he's gotta contort to get out. It's no wonder. Try either chiropractic, osteopathic or cranial sacral work. If something is out of place his body will grow to compensate for it and it can lead to issues later. It's almost a reset so he can grow straight. It may be nothing but it's worth the 2nd opinion. Torticolis is commonplace for them.

Betty,

My daughter was born with torticolis as well. We took her to the Shriners who fixed the problem. I met with the doctors and a plastic surgeon because her ear was a little deformed at the time. She is now 8 and perfectly normal. They showed me exercises to do for her neck and she also preferred her left side for quite a while. I would say that the arching of his back is not related to the torticolis. Personally, if this is something new then I really wouldn't worry too much. If this has been going on for a while then I would be concerned. Babies go through many phases and this could very well be just another phase. You could try and burp him in a sitting position instead of on your shoulder. Maybe he would prefer this better? You could even burp him lying on his stomach across your legs or in a football hold in your arms. Let us know if you figure it out! Good luck!

Hello, I didn't see your original post, but caught this on the update. I just wanted to share with you. My son also had torticollis at 4 mos. He was so bad that his neck would lock, and it wouldn't move. After PT he would be a little better, and then it would resurface. We finally took him to a pediactric chiropractor. It turns out his first vertabrae was out of alignment, so severely, that it was causing this. The chiropractor knew immediately what torticollis was, and how to fix it. After the first adjustment, he was 100%, and then he went 3x a week for the first month to maintain it (their muscles have to learn to hold the vertabrae in place) and then monthly maintence, and my son has been perfect. I use Dr. Mick Mahan at discover chiropractic. His number is ###-###-####, and he adjusts my whole family, even my 2 mo old baby, and is so gentle. Good luck to you, I hope he is doing well.

One of my twins arched her back as well. When she would sleep, she was arched so much that her head almost touched her bum. We honestly just thought it was because her sister had her head in her back in utero. She eventually grew out of it as months past and as an 8 year old now, is extremely flexible.

I am also a 36 year old woman with torticolis. When I was an infant, I don't think they knew much about it. I had surgery when I was three but by then alot of the damage was done. I never went through therapy. In fact, I just got a name for it a few months ago.

As a result, I have limited use of my neck, lean to the side, and one side of face is lower/smaller, even the ear/nose canals. It even effected the way my fingergnails grew.

I am very happy that it is so easily treated now days and these babies are getting to lead a normal life.

My son had torticolis and we just turned him to the left side at night per the doctor. Also, when he was swinging or sitting in his bouncy seat or whatever stationary position he was in, we turned him back to his least favorite side and his head rounded out. He is four and I can still see a slight difference in the side of his head, but this does not affect the brain, the doctors said. He was also a back archer. He started this as soon as he could move that way and kept being squirmy the entire time. He just wanted to get down and play and did not want to be held. He still doesn't want to be constrained. I do not believe they are related at all either. Just tell her she is a great mommy, she is probably exhausted and can not take criticism well. But, they do need to be checked out and have their physical therapy evaluated so maybe you can go with her to the doctor to do that. Best of luck we all want the best for our kids. No one can blame you for that.

Our little guy had torticolis until we got his reflux under control. If he's hard to burp, it wouldn't surprise me that reflux was the cause of both. It might be worth checking into, even if he's not a big spitter. Our little guy didn't spit up very much, but had very severe reflux. We never even had to see a PT for the torticolis. It took care of itself within a few weeks.

This might sound taboo to a lot of parents, but with all of my kids I have taken them to a chiropractor when they were first born. My first son arched his back, laid on his right side, he even screamed when we would put him on a different side than the right. My doctor recommended taking him to a chiropractor, and instantly my son was a ton better. So after I had my twins, that was the first thing I did is have their backs adjusted. Between being scrunched up in the womb and being born, their backs and hips get out. Try it, it works!! Make sure that you go to a baby chiropractor. If you live in the Boise area, I have a really good baby chiropractor I could recommend.