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Forum -> Parenting our children -> Infants
Torticollis and flat head



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amother
Peach


 

Post Thu, Jul 06 2017, 10:46 am
We noticed that my baby always turned his head to the left when he was a few weeks old. At his subsequent doctor's appointment, the doctor didn't seem too concerned--just said to do some stretches with him. Since I work, it's not so easy to do the stretches, and we kind of dropped the ball on that.

Now, at his 4-month appointment, the doctor mentioned about the torticollis and a flat head (it's a different doctor in the same office), and again, he said to do stretches and give him tummy time. At this point, I'm worried that even with those interventions, it won't go away on its own.

Someone suggested getting cranio-sacral therapy and possibly a helmet for the flat head. I'm not at all familiar with the process of doing this. What is the quickest way of getting him evaluated for therapy and possibly the helmet? I want to at least start taking care of this while I'm off from work over the summer.

(I have GHI/Emblem Health--if anyone knows about them specifically, that would be great!)
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Ahuva's Mommy




 
 
    
 

Post Thu, Jul 06 2017, 11:32 am
You can have your child evaluated for free (doesn't matter what insurance coverage you have)through early intervention for PT.
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amother
Goldenrod


 

Post Thu, Jul 06 2017, 11:33 am
Speaking as an OT:

Studies show mixed results on helmet use. It is not necessarily more effective that stretching unless there is a severe case of deformity. It also will not correct the torticollis itself, only the head shape. So it is not a full solution even if you go ahead with it.

Therapy (OT or PT) helps. But working with your baby once or twice a week will not help significantly unless you do the stretches every day and make other changes as needed.

Stretches should be done every time you change the baby's diaper, which will be pretty often throughout th e day. Whoever watches him while you're at work can do them at those diaper changes. Or not, and make sure you get in enough stretches on your own time. You don't need a major time investment- maybe 1-2 minutes at each diaper change. You're changing his diaper anyway. You can do it.

Positioning is very important. Now that your baby is more aware and interested in his surroundings, use that to your advantage by thinking about how you will place him during playtime or in the car. You don't only want passive stretches, you want him to be using those muscles on his own too. Can't really give you specifics on this forum, but your therapist can.

Minimize as much as possible time spent in car seats, bouncy seats, etc. Baby should ideally be flat on his back, on his stomach, or in someone's arms. Ask your therapist to show you how to hold him so you are stretching him at the same time. Move his head gently to the other side when he is in a deep sleep so he gets a stretch.
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esther36




 
 
    
 

Post Thu, Jul 06 2017, 11:58 am
My oldest daughter had severe torticollis and got lots of therapy to help her starting at four months old. We did tons of stretching exercises (which she hated & used to cry but we did it anyway:( and never kept her in a car seat or bouncer. These things make a tremendous difference. She's a teenager now and u wouldn't know she ever had an issue. Do the exercises and stretching religiously and you'll see it really works.
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mha3484




 
 
    
 

Post Thu, Jul 06 2017, 12:27 pm
My oldest had torticolis. I did PT at our local childrens hospital. I preferred that over EI because I found that the hospital was so well stocked with toys etc. We talked about different types of medical tape and a helmet which would have required me to use the hospital anyways. Also as a new mother with a winter baby it was good for me to get dressed and leave my apartment. For whatever reason I am a little neurotic about doing PT at home.
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miami85




 
 
    
 

Post Thu, Jul 06 2017, 12:53 pm
My son had torticollis and we did some stretching that my pediatrician showed us and it cleared up on its own. we caught it before it affected his head shape.
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amother
Blonde


 

Post Thu, Jul 06 2017, 1:10 pm
A couple of sessions with a PT can clear this up, but go soon before it gets worse.
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amother
Vermilion


 

Post Sat, Jul 08 2017, 4:17 pm
First, to reassure you about flat heads, my daughter had torticollis, and her head was flat on one side for quite some time, but it was totally rounded out by the time she got to preschool. So even if it's flat, even if it's still flat at a year or a year and a half, it will round out again on its own and be symmetrical, so don't worry about that! In the meantime, I discovered the amazing tip of parting her hair with a side part on the flat side, so that the hair covers the fact that one side of her head is 'larger' than the other (for some kids, it's works better to do it the other way, to add more volume to the flatter side). This really masked the flat-ness until it wasn't noticeable and one day a year later I noticed my daughter's head was perfectly symmetrical and I hadn't even noticed that it happened.

As for the torticollis, this does require attention, not for cosmetic reasons, but for muscle strength and proper movement and to prevent pain down the line. Here's what helps:
Home exercises- First of all, the stretches can even be for just 1 minute while you change the baby's diaper, and I even taught them to the babysitter. They are very quick and I found it easier to do that than to try and sit and do a 10 minute session.
You can go for PT - where they basically do some more intensive stretches there, and you still do exercises at home. If you are really busy, try doing exercises at home for several weeks, and then if there is no improvement, go for PT, it helps.
Positioning - the PT told us to only hold our daughter in a certain way to stretch her neck muscles on the tighter side (kind of on her side with her head on your arm, tight side facing the floor). Maybe ask your dr or look online
Placement - PT said to place her crib against the wall, and always place her so that she'd have to turn her head the other way to see what's going on in the room, to encourage her to stretch the muscles on her own. It also helps to put a brightly colored toy on the crib bars to give extra incentive. If that's too hard for baby, try a mobile that's off center so she has to turn her head at least a little to see it. Basically, any time you put her down anywhere, whether on her back or stomach or in a bouncy seat or crib or highchair, put it aginst a wall and put her down so that the wall is on the side her head is naturally looking at, so she was to work to turn it.

Lastly, torticollis is sometimes associated with hip dysplasia (when the angle of the hip joint is a little off), so please ask your doctor to send your baby for a hip ultrasound - the treatment for this is very straightforward at a young age, but can require surgery later if untreated.

Our daughter's torticollis started getting better within a few weeks and was gone by a few months. The flat head still lingered after for a while, but now she is 4 and perfectly symmetrical and all her neck muscles work great.
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amother
Ginger


 

Post Mon, Aug 06 2018, 8:30 am
amother wrote:


Lastly, torticollis is sometimes associated with hip dysplasia (when the angle of the hip joint is a little off), so please ask your doctor to send your baby for a hip ultrasound - the treatment for this is very straightforward at a young age, but can require surgery later if untreated.


I know this is not a current post.
Can you elaborate in this?
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amother
Vermilion


 

Post Mon, Aug 06 2018, 9:38 am
amother wrote:
I know this is not a current post.
Can you elaborate in this?


Basically, torticollis is often associated with hip dysplasia, which is an incorrect angle of the hip. The theory is that both are based on baby's position in utero (in the uterus while you were pregnant). So when they see a baby has torticollis, it is a good idea to check the hips via hip ultrasound, with an orthopedist who specializes in this. If they detect hip dysplasia early on when the baby is still very young, they will give you a special soft harness system for your baby to wear for a few weeks to keep the hips in the right position, and that is usually enough to correct it.
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amother
Peach


 

Post Mon, Aug 06 2018, 9:41 am
Hi. I am the OP of this thread. It's so funny that I saw it here, since I was just about to revive it--I had another baby 4 weeks ago, and she's having the same issue! I'm so frustrated... I thought it was just my oldest...

As far as hip dysplasia, a PT told me that torticollis and hip dysplasia are correlated, but there is no need to send for a hip ultrasound out of hand. The pediatrician checks the hips to see if there might be a problem. If he detects something, then he will send for the ultrasound.
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amother
Honeydew


 

Post Mon, Aug 06 2018, 12:26 pm
I’m happy to see this post. My baby is 3 months old and she has torticollis. Her head is starting to get a little flat, but her hair mostly covers it. I talked to my ped about it and he said if it’s still bad by the 4 month visit he will send her to PT.
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amother
Amber


 

Post Mon, Aug 06 2018, 3:19 pm
amother wrote:
I’m happy to see this post. My baby is 3 months old and she has torticollis. Her head is starting to get a little flat, but her hair mostly covers it. I talked to my ped about it and he said if it’s still bad by the 4 month visit he will send her to PT.


Why wait? My son had torticollis and his pediatrician also said to wait. I didn't wait and made an appointment right away with a pediatric orthopedist. The doctor said it was a severe case, and arranged right away for an appointment with a physical therapist. The PT recommended going through Early Intervention. My son wound up having nearly three years of twice weekly PT and OT. Although the actual torticollis and the flat head resolved quickly, the muscle weakness and general asymmetry took several years to resolve. The quicker you take care of this, the better.
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amother
Bronze


 

Post Tue, Aug 07 2018, 7:55 am
amother wrote:
Why wait? My son had torticollis and his pediatrician also said to wait. I didn't wait and made an appointment right away with a pediatric orthopedist. The doctor said it was a severe case, and arranged right away for an appointment with a physical therapist. The PT recommended going through Early Intervention. My son wound up having nearly three years of twice weekly PT and OT. Although the actual torticollis and the flat head resolved quickly, the muscle weakness and general asymmetry took several years to resolve. The quicker you take care of this, the better.


Why wait?
Because more often than not it resolves itself.

My kid had a very noticeable case. The doctor told me not to worry about it just yet. By her 4 months physical he told me we will see how it is by 6 month.
By the time she was 9 months it was completely gone.

She did have a severe case of hip dysplasia and needed surgery twice as a baby.

Hop dysplasia is actually a "dislocation" of the hip. That is caused by a shallow hip socket. Usually the angle is off too, but not always.

Both are associated to how kids are in utero. So it can be about your uterus shape rather than about your child.
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amother
Blonde


 

Post Tue, Aug 07 2018, 10:03 am
amother wrote:
Why wait?
Because more often than not it resolves itself.

My kid had a very noticeable case. The doctor told me not to worry about it just yet. By her 4 months physical he told me we will see how it is by 6 month.
By the time she was 9 months it was completely gone.

She did have a severe case of hip dysplasia and needed surgery twice as a baby.

Hop dysplasia is actually a "dislocation" of the hip. That is caused by a shallow hip socket. Usually the angle is off too, but not always.

Both are associated to how kids are in utero. So it can be about your uterus shape rather than about your child.


If it’s very mild torticollis it may resolve in its own, but usually not otherwise. Early intervention is almost always best.
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amother
Honeydew


 

Post Tue, Aug 07 2018, 11:28 am
amother wrote:
Why wait?
Because more often than not it resolves itself.

My kid had a very noticeable case. The doctor told me not to worry about it just yet. By her 4 months physical he told me we will see how it is by 6 month.
By the time she was 9 months it was completely gone.

She did have a severe case of hip dysplasia and needed surgery twice as a baby.

Hop dysplasia is actually a "dislocation" of the hip. That is caused by a shallow hip socket. Usually the angle is off too, but not always.

Both are associated to how kids are in utero. So it can be about your uterus shape rather than about your child.


Apparently because she has full (manual) range of motion, and the ped is hoping it will resolve if I do exercises at home with her. It has nothing to do with my uterus shape, because she’s my youngest of a bunch of kids who didn’t have it, but it definitely has to do with the fetal lie in utero. My labor was also much longer than it normally is and I didn’t go into labor at all because her head wasn’t positioned properly by the cervix.
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amother
Forestgreen


 

Post Tue, Aug 07 2018, 2:03 pm
Torticollis usually resolves itself. I had a baby which had a very obviously flat head in the back, and the pediatrician wasn't concerned. Despite tummy time and exercises, the issue only resolved itself when my DS started sleeping on his side and walking. This was about 1.5 years old that we began to see improvement, and finally by 2 years old there is no more flatness to his head. The helmets have very questionable success, and cost a fortune. After looking into it, I decided I didn't want to take a chance. Especially because the bones in babies' heads are so malleable compared to adults, enabling flat heads can resolve on their own most of the time.
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amother
Red


 

Post Tue, Aug 07 2018, 2:40 pm
My daughter had torticollis so bad that her face was distorted. Her PT actually says that the helmet not only fixes the head shape and distortion but also helps with the torticollis.

The helmet fixed her head shape and the distortion on her face that it caused.
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amother
Amber


 

Post Tue, Aug 07 2018, 3:57 pm
amother wrote:
Torticollis usually resolves itself. I had a baby which had a very obviously flat head in the back, and the pediatrician wasn't concerned. Despite tummy time and exercises, the issue only resolved itself when my DS started sleeping on his side and walking. This was about 1.5 years old that we began to see improvement, and finally by 2 years old there is no more flatness to his head. The helmets have very questionable success, and cost a fortune. After looking into it, I decided I didn't want to take a chance. Especially because the bones in babies' heads are so malleable compared to adults, enabling flat heads can resolve on their own most of the time.


The choice is not necessarily between waiting (aka doing nothing) and putting your baby in a helmet. The choice is between waiting and doing PT / OT *without* a helmet. I opted for doing PT / OT, and although I can't know that my child wouldn't have turned out okay without PT and OT, the fact that the lack of muscle tone took so long to resolve even with PT and OT seems to indicate that without PT and OT, it would have taken even longer to resolve. Why have your kid dealing with this in preschool? Get it taken care of quickly.
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