Wry Neck or Infant Torticollis is an abnormal tightness of the Sternocleidomastoid muscle (SCM) of a baby's neck which causes him to hold his head tilted toward one side of the body. The SCM is a large rope-like muscle that extends from the base of baby's collar bone to the base of the skull. Torticollis affects one in every 250 babies born in the United States, and may be congenital or acquired. Congenital Torticollis, also known as Muscular Torticollis, is usually painless and causes the baby to keep their head tilted towards one side. If left untreated, Torticollis can cause serious side effects such as flat head syndrome (Plagiocephaly) because baby's with this condition tend to sleep with their head to the same side. Many parents of infants with this condition report seeing and feeling a lump in the muscle of their baby's neck.
If you suspect that your baby may have this condition, a visit to the pediatrician is highly recommended, because he may also have a condition called hip dysplasia, where the hip joint is malformed and dislocated. One condition does not cause the other, however there is a correlation between the two. Thankfully, Torticollis can be treated with simple stretching of baby's neck muscles and positioning of his head during routine activities such as sleeping or watching television.
Simple Home Exercises and Stretches:
If your baby has right side Torticollis, try this technique during feeding time to cue your baby to turn her head towards the left side.
Stretching Tight Neck Muscles While Feeding
Hold your baby in your right arm and hold her bottle in your left hand.
Gently touch the tip of the bottle's nipple to the left corner of your baby's mouth and encourage her to turn her head toward her left side as she tries to get the nipple into her mouth.
Move the nipple toward your baby's left side so that she has to continue turning her head toward the left side to get the nipple into her mouth.
Continue this process until she has turned her head all the way to the left side before giving her the bottle to feed from. Encourage her to finish feeding with her head turned and this will stretch the tight neck muscles on the right side of her neck.
Positioning of the Head While Baby is Asleep
Put your baby to sleep on her stomach with her face turned toward her favorite side (the side with the tight SCM muscle)
Position her body so that she is facing the wall.
Most babies will turn their heads to look at the objects in the room instead of staring at the wall, and this will gently stretch the tight neck muscles.
Positional Stretching For Tight Neck Muscles
Place your baby lying on the couch with her head close to your body.
Engage her with a brightly colored toy or cell phone held directly overhead.
Once she is tracking the toy, slowly move the toy in an arc down to the surface of the couch so that the toy is on the opposite side of her Torticollis (if she has right side torticollis then the toy would be placed on her left side) so that she has to rotate her head toward her left side to continue looking at the toy.
When her head has turned all the way to the opposite side of the Torticollis, gently place your hand on her cheek to keep her face turned towards the opposite side.
Try to keep her head turned toward the left side for thirty seconds or as long as she can tolerate the stretch.
Gently stroke her tummy to help keep her calm.
Practice the above stretching and positioning exercises several times each day and
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