Neck issues…related to reflux?

[Anonymous]

So weird that you posted this.. Ben just started doing the same thing.. we thought he was just trying to be cute, kind of cheesing at us, but he does have a cold, so maybe it’s really his ear bothering him!

[Anonymous]

Hi all- Well, I talked to my doctor, and turns out she sounds like she has acquired torticollis, which is probably caused by outgrowing her dose of Zantac- This condition can also happen with any infection of the upper body, like a respiratory infection, ec. Whatever the particular cause, it makes their throat/chest swollen, which pinches a nerve or something on one side of their neck, causing the weird tilting called torticollis-

So, he actually doubled her dose to 2ml 2 x day, as she was only on 1 ml 2 x day, and said that if it doesn’t help we would know pretty soon, and to call if she keeps doing it- The more I think about it, it makes sense though- She’s sleeping worse, crying when eating once in a while, and doing this neck-twisting thing. Some babies have this from birth, but others, like Sadie, do it as a reaction to something that is bothering them- So, hopefully taking care of the reflux will help- and, he suggested neck stretches too, which I found online at:

http://www.keepkidshealthy.com/cgi-bin/extlink.pl?l=http://w ww.orthoseek.com/articles/ifs-right.html

Turns out that it can be even a little painful, like a pinched muscle-

So, sounds like this behavior makes sense for all of us, as it is either reflux or ear infections…agh! Will it ever end for these poor babies!

[Anonymous]

Ohh.. okay. That’s different from what Bryce had then. He didn’t have torticollis. His was more of a random tilt of the head than the constant favoring of one side like you see with tort. I’m glad you figured it out! I hope that increased Zantac dose does the trick! Good luck with that and the stretches.

[Anonymous]

my son had tort and plagio and had to go to PT and wear a doc band (a helmet). many babies with tort also have plagio. good luck!

[Anonymous]

Yes, I am hoping we can catch Sadie’s condition early to prevent having any PT or a helmet- We have been repositioning her because of her flat spot, and it actually seems to be helping, but, in doing so, we made the tort worse because we were putting her on her non-tort side to get her off of her flat spot! So, we will go back to putting her on her tort side, doing stretches, then, hopefully she’ll get better- IF not, we see the ped in a month and we’ll see what to do next.

These poor babies. Nobody realizes how much reflux can affect development- I get so mad when non-reflux moms just think it’s “heartburn” and act like I am making too big of deal out of this…if they only knew…

[Anonymous]

avery-regarding the tort and plago-

not trying to scare but, when my son was in the docband i went on the cranial technologies message board. there were so many mothers on there who came on and their docs had told them to just do stretches and wait it out…that it would correct itself.

well these moms had 2 year olds by this point who still had the plagio and tort…and by two, it is too late for a docband. actually, docbands are most effective when started at 4-6 months of age. after that, it becomes harder and harder to treat, and the docband must be worn fo longer periods of time. these mothers were in tears and were enraged that their docs hadnt taken it more seriously.

luckily, when we went to the ped and menionted tort, the first thing she did was write a script for PT and canial tech (docband clinic). because we caught it so early, he didnt have to wear the docband for long at all.

as for the “heartburn”….are you kidding me? “heartburn” is EXTREMELY painful, i had it in my 3rd trimester of pregnancy, and it literally made ME cry at night. i hate people like that!

[Anonymous]

My nephew had plagio and the doc kept telling his mom that his head would just become round on its own… BUT I did alot of research and told her to demand a helmet. So he got one finally at about 7 or 8 months. His head looks a lot better but not as good as it would look if he had gotten it earlier. And the plus about the helmet is that is saved him from tons of bumps and bruises when he was learning to stand and walk!!

[Anonymous]

Bryce had a flat spot too and ended up wearing a helmet for about 3 months. Our doctor told us his head shape would go back to normal on it’s own if we kept him off that side, and it did get a little better, but not much. When he was 8 months old our OT told us about a free evaluation by the orthotist and we went. He strongly recommended the helmet even though Bryce was a lot older than the ideal age. So he wore a helmet from 9 – 12 months. It really helped – his head looks great now.

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