Effects of Torticollis

Effects of Torticollis

The most common cause of torticollis is muscular. This occurs when your child's neck muscles become particularly tight on one side. This causes spasm or tightening of the sternocleidomastoid muscle within the neck leading to shortening of the muscle which causes the child to permanently position with their head at a tilt.

Children or babies are not born with torticollis, but it is a position a child may adopt at an early age. It typically occurs when the child is ages 4 to 6 months or later and develops at different rates. It can cause a number of problems with a child's physical development by delaying or complicating their physically development. One contributing factor may be a lack of time the child has spent on their stomach or continuously sleeping on one side which causes a child to adapt to only looking over one shoulder. Other reasons may be due to abnormal development or over activity of the sternocleidomastoid muscle (the predominant muscle in the neck) or trauma or damage to the muscle during birth.

To book an assessment or for more information please email office@manchesterneurophysio.co.uk call 0161 883 0066 .