How’s it going, everyone? Dr. Shane here with Family First Chiropractic. Today I wanna talk to you about the third most common congenital deformity, torticollis. According to current research, 16% of newborns will develop torticollis.
What Exactly Is Torticollis?
Torticollis is a tightening of a muscle in the anterolateral portion of your neck called the sternocleidomastoid muscle, or SCM for short. That tightness can be due to position in the womb, injury during birth, or injury during infancy itself.
When that muscle tightens, the head laterally flexes toward that side and then rotates away, causing the infant to favor that position and leading to a lack of range of motion in the cervical spine.
Other Issues Torticollis Can Cause
This can lead to further dysfunction, including breastfeeding issues, plagiocephaly, or a misshapen head, as well as developmental delays.
Chiropractic Treatment and Care at Home
As far as chiropractic treatment for torticollis, we like to focus on specific chiropractic adjustments of the cervical spine to relax that muscle, as well as massage and stretches to help promote that relaxation.
At home, we highly encourage you to continue those stretches and massages to help promote relaxation of the muscle, as well as head positioning changes while feeding and during tummy time.
If Your Infant Favors One Head Position
If your infant is favoring one head position or you feel like your infant has torticollis, feel free to contact us or comment below, and we’d love to help. Dr. Shane at Family First Chiropractic.
