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Original poster

anyone got a baby with a "stiff neck"

12 replies

MrsSlocomb · 02/12/2007 08:45

I posted this a few days ago and wondered if anyone else can help. I've asked my baby( 7 months) to be refered for wry neck.
Just wondered if anyone else has had experience of this and how successful treatments were?
I hate seeing him with such a crooked head.
Will he ever be 'normal'?

OP posts:

needmorecoffee · 02/12/2007 08:48

How did he get a stiff neck? I only looked at the thread cos my dd has cerebral palsy and has a stiff everything.
I'd take him to an osteopath or a chiropracter.
And all babies are normal,wether they have stiff necks, CP or anything else.

Original poster

MrsSlocomb · 02/12/2007 08:51

nmcI think it was his position in the womb towards the end of my pg. He was all jammed in to my pelvis at a funny angle. He holds his head to the right and finds it difficult to turn his head without moving his body.
I have read that it doesn't sort itself out and can lead to problems.

OP posts:

SlightlyMadScreachingSirens · 02/12/2007 09:00

I think it is called torticulis (or something like that). My DD3 had it very mildly but corrected itself naturally within a week or 2 after birth. She still has a flattened head on 1 side as a result though .

Hope you can resolve your sons.

needmorecoffee · 02/12/2007 09:06

Its why I suggested the chiropracters. They can massage and stretch the muscles and align the joints over several sessions. If you wait for the NHS it could take ages and ages!
Dunno if cranial osteopathy would be useful too. Phone them, explain the prob and see.

kinki · 02/12/2007 09:06

MrsS, my ds3 is only 3 months old. For the last few weeks, he has been seeing an osteopath. I originally took him because he was colicky and unsettled, but during his initial assessment I asked if they could check out his neck since his head position was always turned to the left and tilted up. They told me that they could, and indeed they have successfully treated him. (It turns out his neck was probably the cause of his colic symptoms as the twist in his neck was causing a twist in his body which was impinging his diaphragm and stomach). Anyway, a few weeks on, he turns his neck both ways and no longer is permanently looking above his left shoulder.

kinki · 02/12/2007 09:08

ds3 was also developing a flattened skull - but since treatment for the neck, I don't think it has got any worse. I was wondering if it might even out a bit now.

Original poster

MrsSlocomb · 02/12/2007 09:43

yes these all sound similar. Ds3 was a VERY VERY cross baby for the first 6 months! He must have been in alot of discomfort poor lamb
I think the only thing that stopped him having a flat spot on his head was the fact that he never lay down long enough to develop one. Infact he didn't even develop a bald patch .
I realise it will be harder to treat him as he is mobile and not as compliant as a little baby but I will check out the various practitioners as God only knows how long the NHS referal will take to come through.
Thanks

OP posts:

Elibean · 02/12/2007 10:21

dd1 could only feed on one side, until she had cranial osteopathy for her neck - she was younger, only about 3 weeks old, but it worked after one treatment. I would imagine it would take wee bit longer with a 7 month old, but hopefully be as successful? My dd's problem was because she was transverse and squished in utero, too. Good luck

lailasmum · 02/12/2007 10:37

I have torticollis (AKA wry neck) as an adult, its very annoying. Mine is probably slightly different as I first started to get it really badly when I was about 19 and 10 years later its still there and means sometimes I can't drive or move properly when its at its worst and the rest of the time i mostly have to turn my body to turn very far to my left. Though I have suspicions I may have had it as a child and it was worsened by an injury as I have a slightly odd shaped skull. But I would say bug for treatment as its one of those things that gets sort of ignored when it should be dealt with especially in a little baby-or find private treatment as others have suggested. I find I am in a lot of pain at times and a niggling ache the rest of the time so must be horrible for a little one.

Original poster

MrsSlocomb · 02/12/2007 11:10

It 's amazing what you can learn, even after having lots of kids. I would look at ds3 and notice his head was bent to one side, but I just assumed it would correct itself. I had never heard of any problems with necks. I notice that his crawling is awkward too, well it would be wouldn't it?

OP posts:

JinglyJangly · 02/12/2007 12:07

Mrs S - I remember your thread, i.e. torticolis.

Don't know if you have read any of these

www.mumsnet.com/SearchArch

I haven't read them so not sure if they are of any use to you.

JinglyJangly · 02/12/2007 12:09

oops didn't work.

click on 'search for messages' at top of the page and type in torticolis in your search.

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