Sometimes, when you wake up from a long, hard night’s sleep, you find that you have difficulty moving your neck. It’s almost fixed in place, and you can only move with great difficulty. This is wry neck as seen in adults, and can be gotten rid of in a small period of time. However, wry neck—or torticollis, as the medical term entails—isn’t exclusively an adult problem. It is, in fact, more of an infant problem.
In babies, it’s not painful, because they’ve had it since birth. However, it is a very uncomfortable condition to have, and can affect an individual’s self-esteem greatly. Every 3 in 100 babies have this condition.
If you have noticed that your child is having said problem, you’d naturally want to know everything about this problem—and we’re here to guide you.
What Happens in Torticollis?
There’s a muscle behind our ears that’s connected with the collarbone, called the sternocleidomastoid. This is a particularly thick muscle, and when it tightens, it tends to stay in one position, making you look like a person with a bent neck, unable to move your head the other way.
What Might be Causing It?
Your children could either develop the wry neck because of a bad night’s sleep or they’re born with the condition. Chances are that you already know if they were born with the condition because you must have noticed your child’s head turned at an unusual angle. Usually infants have it because their sternocleidomastoid is shorter than it should be.
The potential causes include:
- Trauma suffered by the mother and subsequently by the baby during pregnancy
- Flat head caused by the baby sleeping in the same position without moving
- Genetic diseases that cause problems with muscles in the neck.
What to Do?
If your new-born baby has a visible wry neck condition, the very first thing you need to do, of course, is to consult the nurse or doctor near you. Bear in mind that torticollis can be fixed or temporary. Fixed torticollis problems arise due to tumors in the neck that are leading to pressure on the muscles.
However, in the event that the case goes unchecked and you don’t notice the torticollis until later, you shouldn’t panic. It’s still treatable. Adults develop cervical dystonia, which is a painful condition of the back and neck, with recurrent spasms that make daily life difficult. Children face their own set of difficulties.
Visit a neurologist near you to ensure that you are embarking on the path to recovery as soon as possible. If you’re in L.A., Dr. FarzinPedouim is a movement disorders specialist providing treatment for torticollis, and can be reached at (949) 239-4410.
