Torticollis

[Sxp842]

Hi all, I think my 14 week old baby might have torticollis.

He always lies with his head on the right side and won’t move his head completely to the left. If I distract him with a toy he’ll follow it to the left with his eyes and move his head slightly, but won’t move his head beyond a certain point. I’ve tried to gently physically turn his head to the left and he fights it. He also tends to favour using his right arm rather than his left arm. When he’s doing tummy time he’ll put his right hand and arm under his chest to try and push up, but his left arm will usually lag by his side unless i physically move it into position.

I’d like to get a professional diagnosis because I have just been looking on Google and YouTube so far. What type of professional would be best placed for this? A physiotherapist or an occupational therapist or an osteopath?

and if anyone has recommendations for someone in the London/Surrey area that would be great!

thanks

Contact your health visitor or gp and they should refer you on. My little one was like this and they suspected torticollis, turns out he had such severe reflux that he was in so much pain to move too much.

Physio. I have pm-ed you - you need to start physio asap to avoid his skull being reshaped.

thing with arm preference probably needs checking by a GP.

My dd had it but when she was about 10 and was given a course of massage through her physio team (she was under paediatrics for arthritis) It really helped her straighten her neck back up. I wouldn't try and do anything yourself without professional advice.

Thanks so much for the replies, I’m going to look into some private treatment with a paediatric physio. Interesting about the reflux because at 3 months old my son also recently developed pretty bad digestive problems which is causing colic type crying all day and grunting and thrashing around at night. Wonder if it all might be linked in some way

Your description is sufficient to diagnose torticollis. Your GP or health visitor can refer you to Physiotherapy but in some areas you need to be a bit pushy as some GPs brush it off.
He is at risk of his head flattening, too. I highly recommend you join the Noggin Doctor's Plagiocephaly and Torticollis Discussion Board on Facebook. Its run by a paediatric craniofacial surgeon.