If your baby’s head is stuck tilting to one side, you’ve probably been told it’s just a tight muscle. “Stretch it out, do some tummy time, and wait it out,” they say.
But here’s what most pediatricians won’t tell you: torticollis isn’t just about tight muscles. It’s about what happened to your baby’s nervous system during birth.
You’re Not Alone in This Journey
We see this pattern week after week. A mom comes in exhausted, holding a baby who cries during every diaper change, struggles to nurse on one side, and can’t seem to get comfortable no matter what position you try. The pediatrician noticed the head tilt at the 2-month checkup, referred you to physical therapy, and sent you home with stretching exercises that make your baby scream.
Those stretches aren’t working because they’re treating the symptoms, not the root cause. And while you’re waiting and stretching, that subluxation in your baby’s upper spine is affecting far more than just their neck. It’s impacting their ability to eat, sleep, drain fluid from their ears, and hit developmental milestones.
Nathan’s Story: From Struggle to Thriving
Let me tell you about Nathan. His mom brought him in after a traumatic emergency C-section left him with torticollis, plagiocephaly (flat head), digestive issues, and eczema covering his face. He was locked up from his neck all the way down to his lower back. The tight neck muscles caused ear misalignment, leading to repeated ear infections that began at just a few months old.
Nathan’s occupational therapy wasn’t helping. He was even fitted for a helmet to correct the flat spot on his head, but he still looked miserable and uncomfortable all the time. He couldn’t hit his milestones because his entire system was stuck in overdrive.
Within the first month of Neurologically-Focused Chiropractic Care, Nathan’s digestive issues and eczema cleared up. By month two, everything changed. He started sitting up, crawling, pulling himself to stand, and he hasn’t had an ear infection since starting care.
Understanding Torticollis: It’s More Than Meets the Eye
1. Torticollis Is a Neurological Problem, Not Just a Tight Muscle
When doctors diagnose torticollis, they’re looking at the obvious sign: your baby’s head tilts to one side with their chin pointing the other way. They see tight muscles and a limited range of motion. But what they’re missing is what’s happening underneath.
Torticollis happens because of subluxation. Subluxation has three parts:
- Misalignment within the neurospinal system
- Abnormal tension or fixation within these neurospinal segments and regions
- Neurological interference and imbalance, where the nervous system gets stuck sending stress signals instead of calm, coordinated ones
Think of it like a computer with too many tabs open. When your baby’s nervous system is overwhelmed with stress signals from that subluxation, everything slows down or crashes. Their body can’t coordinate properly, muscles stay tight, and they’re stuck in fight-or-flight mode.
2. Birth Trauma Is the Most Common Cause
The amount of pulling, twisting, and pressure placed on a baby’s head and neck during birth interventions is significant. Forceps delivery, vacuum extraction, and even C-sections can create subluxation in the upper cervical spine.
Add that to difficult positioning in the womb, being stuck in the birth canal, or a long labor, and you’ve got what we call the Perfect Storm. These layers of stress compound on each other, and the result is a nervous system that can’t regulate properly.
3. Why Stretching Alone Doesn’t Work
Physical therapy stretches work on the muscles, but they don’t address the subluxation that creates the tension in the first place. It’s like trying to push a car with the parking brake on.
Many parents tell us the stretches make their baby cry and seem to make things worse. That’s because when the nervous system is stuck in stress mode, any additional discomfort just adds to the tension. The body fights back instead of relaxing.
When you release the subluxation first with gentle chiropractic adjustments, the nervous system can finally calm down. Then the stretches and positioning exercises actually work because the parking brake is off.
4. The Hidden Consequences of Unresolved Torticollis
Here’s what concerns us most: when torticollis isn’t fully resolved at the neurological level, it doesn’t just go away.
That subluxation can contribute to:
- Ear infections because tight neck muscles affect Eustachian tube drainage
- Respiratory infections like croup and RSV because the body can’t move mucus and secretions properly
- Developmental challenges as kids grow, including gross motor delays, fine motor challenges, sensory processing issues, and even ADHD
The foundation wasn’t stable, so development gets harder at every stage.
There’s Hope: A Gentle, Effective Path Forward
If your baby has torticollis, you don’t have to choose between painful stretches and just waiting it out. There’s a gentle, effective approach that addresses the root cause.
Advanced INSiGHT scans can pinpoint exactly where the subluxation is located and determine its severity. Then, with safe and gentle adjustments, the tension can be released and balance restored to your baby’s nervous system. Parents often see changes within just a few visits.
Sometimes our little ones just get stuck in stress mode, and when we ease that nervous system tension, everything can shift.
Ready to Help Your Baby Thrive?
At PWC Chiropractic, we believe your baby deserves to feel comfortable, develop on track, and thrive. And you deserve to feel empowered and supported on this journey. We want to help. Don’t wait for torticollis to resolve on its own; give us a call today to schedule a consultation for your baby.
If you are not local to us, check out the PX Docs directory to find an office near you. We want to help your baby get unstuck and start thriving.
Here are 3 ways we can help!