Torticollis
Placentia Chiropractor Provides Safe, Effective Torticollis Treatment
Torticollis is a word that literally means “twisted neckâ€. It’s a fairly common condition for many infants. Symptoms include babies not being able to turn their head in one direction and a head that tilts toward one shoulder while the chin points toward the other. It may look like it causes neck pain, but for the baby it usually doesn’t—at least not initially. Nevertheless, without prompt, gentle treatment from your chiropractor, the condition can negatively impact your child’s growth and development, cause neck pain, hip dysplasia and other “growing painsâ€. If you live in the Placentia area, contact Dr. Lee, Dr. Melad or Dr. Untalan for gentle, effective torticollis correction.
How Did My Baby Get Torticollis?
In babies and infants, torticollis often happens due to the stress on the neck muscles during the birthing process. A baby may also be born with it due to the way he or she was positioned in the womb, or if the infant was breech. This is called congenital torticollis.
Chiropractor Dr. Lee and his team has seen children as old as 12 who were never treated for a case of torticollis as babies, and the chronically pinched neck nerves caused uneven arm length development and even hip pain from dysplasia. The good news for parents is that chiropractic care can successfully and gently resolve torticollis in newborns and infants.
Chiropractic Care for Torticollis Encourages Optimal Baby, Infant and Child Development
Doctors often refer baby, infant and child torticollis patients to physical therapy treatment. While this can be effective over time, gentle chiropractic care can restore proper neck posture in infants faster so that the rest of the nervous system can get back to correctly regulating growth and development right away.
For chiropractic care in infants, our chiropractor may use gentle hands on adjustments or use a device called an Activator. It’s a small, hand-held instrument with a soft tip that he can use to very gently and precisely correct vertebral subluxations in a baby’s neck. Parents are often amazed at how quickly this can restore correct neck posture in their children. This un-pinches nerves in the neck, enabling them to function correctly so the baby can enjoy healthy growth and development.