Torticollis- should I get private physio in addition to NHS?

[Goldenrainbow12]

Saw our consultant today who has made a referral to NHS physio but couldn't say how long it would take for our appointment to come through. We have a couple of passive stretches to do in the meantime but wondered if we should get some additional private appointments. Wondering if it's a good idea or not as they'll potentially just give us the same stretches? Any thoughts or tips on this? Don't want to get ripped off but also want best for our baby.

I took mine for private osteopathic treatment. 2 sessions and a follow up to check and he had complete range of motion and no tightness. I would absolutely go private and get it sorted as the longer you leave it, the harder it is to fix. I think I was given some stretches (I’m sure I was that good about doing them) but it was the treatment itself that did it. It cost £35 per session.

Thanks how old was your little one?

Hello!
My son was 12 weeks old when the health visitor referred us to physiotherapy because of torticollis. It was March 2020 so the first wave and lockdown so he never saw a Dr, we just did the stretches and the physio called us over the phone. In the end that was all we needed!
Obviously I don't know your situation but the biggest thing for us was encouraging him to look over to his weaker side (left) whenever we could and frequent tummy time (which he hated so little and often) We moved his changing table and cot so if he wanted to look out into the room (which all babies do) he had to look left. By the time he was 4/5 months his range of motion was fine and he was stretching the muscles himself out of nosiness! 😂 We were told to stop the stretches at 6.5 months. Now (16 months) he has no tilt at all and I'd say that went at 11-12 months.
Because it was a full lockdown I don't think private treatments were really an option but I didn't rule it out - just waited to see. I can't say how severe my son's was as he was never seen in person by a Dr so it could have been on the milder side and that's why he improved so quickly. Also he had no head flattening at all which I know can make things worse!
Just another perspective and a positive story 😁

I believe he was about 6 weeks when we had our first appt, maybe 8 weeks? Appts were spaced every 2 weeks to give the soft tissues some time to get used to the range of motion between sessions. It was excellent.

The NHS at the time was no help. He couldn't turn his head at all in one direction. The GP said there was nothing they could do, but he'd refer us for a helmet if his head turned out flat. I decided I wasn't waiting around for that.

@RLI1105

Hello! My son was 12 weeks old when the health visitor referred us to physiotherapy because of torticollis. It was March 2020 so the first wave and lockdown so he never saw a Dr, we just did the stretches and the physio called us over the phone. In the end that was all we needed! Obviously I don't know your situation but the biggest thing for us was encouraging him to look over to his weaker side (left) whenever we could and frequent tummy time (which he hated so little and often) We moved his changing table and cot so if he wanted to look out into the room (which all babies do) he had to look left. By the time he was 4/5 months his range of motion was fine and he was stretching the muscles himself out of nosiness! 😂 We were told to stop the stretches at 6.5 months. Now (16 months) he has no tilt at all and I'd say that went at 11-12 months. Because it was a full lockdown I don't think private treatments were really an option but I didn't rule it out - just waited to see. I can't say how severe my son's was as he was never seen in person by a Dr so it could have been on the milder side and that's why he improved so quickly. Also he had no head flattening at all which I know can make things worse! Just another perspective and a positive story 😁

Thanks so much for sharing your story, great to see a positive outcome. Did you wait long for physio? And do you remember any of the stretches? Anything basic we can get going with (obviously on the try and encourage them to face away from walls although rarely works atm!)

@Goldenrainbow12 I can't exactly remember how long it was but I don't think it was long. We had 3 phone sessions and 1 video session. I did ask for him to be physically seen but they were just having none of it because of COVID. In the end the phone sessions were fine and the physio took one look at him on the video call and was like "that baby is grand" and discharged us!
The stretches were as you would imagine forcing his head over to the weaker side and holding it there for 20 seconds. The other one we were told was pulling his ear down to his shoulder - this was particularly tight - and again holding it for 20 seconds. We did this every time we changed his nappy during the day. That was it! There are videos on YouTube that go over movements well if I remember rightly.
It sounds/looks a bit brutal manipulating your baby's neck but my son never minded and clearly wasn't in any pain.