Congenital torticollis is an alteration that causes the baby to be born with the neck turned to the side and presents some movement limitation with the neck.
It is curable, but must be treated daily with physiotherapy and osteopathy and surgery is only indicated in cases where the child has not improved by 1 year of age.
Treatment for congenital torticollis
Treatment for congenital torticollis consists of physiotherapy and osteopathy sessions, but it is essential that parents or caregivers know how to do some exercises at home to complement and enhance the treatment.
The mother must be careful to always breastfeed in order to force the baby to turn the neck, in an attempt to free the joint and decrease the contracture of the affected muscle. It is recommended that she express the milk from the other breast with the breast pump to avoid the risk of clogging and there may be a difference in the size of the breasts in the future.
Parents should also leave the baby with the head with the affected side facing a smooth wall, so that the noise, light stimuli and other interesting things for the child force him to turn to the other side and thus stretch the affected muscle..
Exercises for congenital torticollis
The baby's physiotherapist should teach some stretching and release exercises for the affected muscle for the mother to do at home, in order to complement the treatment. Some good exercises are:
- Draw the baby's attention with something that makes a noise by positioning the object in front of him and, gradually, reaching the object to the side, to encourage the baby to turn the neck to the affected side; Place the baby lying on the bed and sit next to him, so that to look at you, he has to turn his neck to the affected side.
The use of warm water bags or heated towels before exercising is essential to facilitate neck mobilization and reduce the risk of pain.
If the baby starts to cry because he cannot look at the affected side, one should not insist. Try again later, little by little.
It is important not to cause pain and not to force the muscle too much so that there is no rebound effect and the condition is aggravated.
