Question Torticollis

lisarh

New member
My 4 month old has torticollis which has caused him to develop a flat spot. We go to physical therapy 2x per week and keep him off of it at home, but the carseat is a problem for us. He tends to always look to the left. He is in a combi centre st from 2007. I also have a britax roundabout from 2008 and a radian xtsl that my 5 year old rides in now.
Is there a good seat for a torticollis baby? I don't know if he is better off in an infant seat or a convertible seat as far is incline goes. I am also a little concerned that neither of the seats I own are very cushioned or supportive. The combi seems especially hard. We have also tried a u shaped pillow to keep him from turning left, but he just turns into the pillow.
If I need a new seat, I plan to RF as long as possible (my oldest had to turn at 3.5). My children have very long torsos and are very tall and skinny. We have a Honda CR-V and really disliked the Radian Rear Facing in our car.

Thanks in advance for any advice!
 
ADS

ketchupqueen

CPST and ketchup snob
Staff member
Hi! My mom works Craniofacial so I'm very familiar with torticollis. First of all, do you do the stretches at home? My mom says that is the most helpful thing, to do the stretches every day. Of course you want to limit time in the car seat as much as possible, so only have baby in it in the car or when going directly to/from the car (not in the store etc.) All car seats can accomodate a baby with torticollis. You can add rolled hand towels or recieving blankets to support the baby; you don't want to add a pillow, though. Nothing should go behind the neck/head for safety reasons; only on the side. However, space is probably really a much better idea as it will cause him to learn to strengthen those muscles!

Positioning is important! Can you switch around the installation if you haven't already, to make sure that your baby's on the passenger side of the car, with a sibling to the driver's side? Ask the sibling to make it his/her job to talk to the baby, try to engage the baby to look at the sibling. Maybe have the sibling hold a soft toy such as a puppet or plush rattle; try to engage the baby to turn and look that way. Stretching the neck before buckling the baby into the car seat will also help with this! You could use the Roundabout for now if you want because the lack of headwings might keep the baby a little more engaged by giving him a clearer view of the sibling trying to engage his attention.
 

AZmamaof2

New member
My son (now 4) had torticollis, and the physical therapy gave him the most benefit. As far as carseats, I can't offer much, but he hated his snugride and was more comfortable in his blvd. When I would change his diaper, he would turn left to look at the quilt hanging on his wall. So they told me to switch and change him the opposite way, but he just looked at me instead, but didn't want to turn his head. Around his 10th month, he started walking and we ended therapy. Has the therapist offered you the neck brace that is supposed to prop his neck off his shoulder? Ours was basically a clear tube with beige athletic wrap over it. He hated wearing that too. And one great idea was to fill a lg sock with rice, fold over the sock, and then stuff it inside another sock. That can be used to help position your baby while he plays on his back. I put it under a receiving blanket to use so he would look up at his crib mobile inside of to the side.

If I was going to do it all over again I would have prefered the britax chaperone. Especially the true side impact protection and easy no rethread harnesses. [ame="http://www.amazon.com/Britax-Chaperone-Infant-Seat-Black/dp/B0072AN3LO/ref=sr_1_1?s=baby-products&ie=UTF8&qid=1351584592&sr=1-1&keywords=chaperone+britax"]Amazon.com: Britax Chaperone Infant Car Seat, Black: Baby[/ame]
 
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AZmamaof2

New member
A good friend of mine has the safety 1st onBoard and I notice it has supportive head/ side impact protection. And it RF to 35# and 32". [ame="http://www.amazon.com/Safety-1st-onBoard-Infant-Great/dp/B00408J6VW/ref=zg_bs_166838011_31"]Amazon.com: Safety 1st onBoard 35 Air Infant Car Seat, Great Lakes: Baby[/ame]

Your tall, skinny babies will outgrow either by ht. first I think. My DD is average to 60% ht at 21mo and measures 32" tall. Either seat would get you a better return if you are having more children in the future.
 

vmmatula

Member
Our son had a severe flat spot/malformation too! At 11 months, he doesn't anymore!!! (does still favor one side but it seems to be habit more than anything else)

Even if you're spending a few hours a day in the car, I think I'd focus more on his time in bed. He's there sleeping for many more hours than he's in the car.

We started noticing the flat spot on our son at about 4 months. We did the obvious positioning and physical therapy but saw not change. By 7 months, I'd seen some seriously dramatic results in my friend's daughter's head so I of course asked what she did. She had ordered a MIMOS PILLOW...not cheap but sooooo worth it. Its like a mesh donut so it doesnt allow the flat part of the head to touch the surface the child is laying on, thereby taking the pressure off it allowing it to form correctly.
http://www.mimospillow.co.uk

My friend's daughter went from literally straight up from her neck to the top of her head to a perfectly rounded head in 3 weeks! We borrowed it and used it for a few months with my son. We didn't see the dramatic results she did but I think that was cause our lil guy was moving alot more by the time we started so didnt stay on the pillow as well however, after 3 months, his flat spot has filled out to the point where I, and our chiropractor, seem to be the only ones who still see it.

If I had another baby, I'd seriously use one from birth to prevent any potential flattening.

Its breathable! Its washable. Its easy to use in a stroller, bouncer, etc...anywhere a baby is except the car.

It really is an amazing product and we totally credit it for getting rid of the flat spot(whereas any muscle/tendon problems, even my "anti-chiropractic" husband admits the chiro did much more than the physical therapy did)! Can't say enough good things about the Mimos Pillow...I just wish more doctors and PT's knew about it (ours were amazed after seeing our kid's transformation so were going to look into it for future referrals).

Another thing we learned about more recently is Cranial Sacral Therapy that some Physical (or sometimes Massage) Therapists specialize in...seems like another worthwhile non-invasive treatment to look into.
 
Last edited by a moderator:

vmmatula

Member
oh and if the infant support fits him properly, I do think the infant "pillow" from the XTSL would make you feel better about him in the car...looking back, I wish I would've done something like that...
 

lisarh

New member
Thanks for all of the replies! We do stretches at every diaper change and reposition him at night. During the day he is pretty much completely off of the flat side, I just can't keep him off of it in the car. He is in the center with his brother on the right so that helps some. But PT is 30 mins. each way twice a week, and his brother is at school so he is no help for that. It probably isn't even that big of a deal in the grand scheme of things. They didn't mention a neck brace, but they did mention a helmet:(. The pillow looks like a great idea. His flat spot is on the side of his head so I don't know if it would help with that, but I will bring it up at PT tomorrow. I will probably end up keeping our current carseats for now. Now I just wonder if being more upright in the roundabout would make him less likely to flip to the side. Also, can I use the infant padding from the radian in the combi centre or the roundabout? Neither of those came with any padding.
 

vmmatula

Member
They didn't mention a neck brace, but they did mention a helmet:(. The pillow looks like a great idea. His flat spot is on the side of his head so I don't know if it would help with that, but I will bring it up at PT tomorrow.

My son's flat spot was the side of his head too and since you're repostioning at night anyway, it'll still help because its not only taking pressure off the flat spot but its also putting a bit of pressure onto the parts around that flat spot so it sort of (forgive the term) squishes it into place a bit.

Also, I think you are doing amazing things and honestly, at only 4 months, I really do think it will fix itself over time and as he starts to have more time where he's off of it altogether. I'm amazed at how much changed during month 10 for our little guy so dont let them jump to the helmet too quickly or until you're comfortable! And if the helmet is pushed, definitely check into Cranial Sacral therapy first...just in case the helmet can be avoided.

best of luck to you!
 

ketchupqueen

CPST and ketchup snob
Staff member
Thanks for all of the replies! We do stretches at every diaper change and reposition him at night. During the day he is pretty much completely off of the flat side, I just can't keep him off of it in the car. He is in the center with his brother on the right so that helps some. But PT is 30 mins. each way twice a week, and his brother is at school so he is no help for that. It probably isn't even that big of a deal in the grand scheme of things. They didn't mention a neck brace, but they did mention a helmet:(. The pillow looks like a great idea. His flat spot is on the side of his head so I don't know if it would help with that, but I will bring it up at PT tomorrow. I will probably end up keeping our current carseats for now. Now I just wonder if being more upright in the roundabout would make him less likely to flip to the side. Also, can I use the infant padding from the radian in the combi centre or the roundabout? Neither of those came with any padding.

What you're doing sounds great! Maybe you can hang a soft toy that jingles or rattles on the driver's side of the car? You should not use pillows that didn't come with the seat. Radian padding only for the Radian, etc.

It's very likely it will correct with time. If not, a helmet is not the end of the world. :)
 

AZmamaof2

New member
We were given the choice/advice of the helmet for our son, because he was slow in sitting up. (since he would only look one way). But w waited it out, and when he was able to start crawling and walking okay, we knew the helmet was not necessary. I do have a cousin whose daughter (same birth month as my son), needed to use the helmet to help fix her flat spot. She was born almost 2 months early though, and only weighed a bit over 5#.
 

murphydog77

Admin - CPST Instructor
Staff member
Keep up with the stretches! My 12 yr old was born with plagiocephaly and some tort and I had to fight back then to get him into a DOC band at 7 months old. Ugh. He's got a beautiful head today :) and as a bonus, he was wearing it when he was learning to stand! When he conked his head, nary a tear, lol.

My dd had tort (geesh, what do I do to my kids in utero?!) and I immediately started exercises with her. She never had problems with head shape fortunately, but she did prefer a side--right, I think. The exercises stink because the babies don't like them, but they do help. You may find that since your dd is older, you'll have to do the exercises longer than you would for a 2 week old, but it will help. And a helmet isn't the end of the world ;). Stick some cute stickers on it and it's a fashion statement :p.
 
V

VanIsleMommy

Guest
my daughter was born with tort as well. besides everything you're doing, I found that hugz helped to keep her from "collapsing" on the weak side. i also found car seats with continuous harnesses are easier to get her properly positioned (although i hate them under normal circumstances LOL). harnesses that are the same tightness on each side she tends to have one side very loose and one very tight which doesn't help the situation at all.

I switch the side her car seat is on and what side we do diaper changes and put her to sleep on constantly. I also change her car seat depending on where the harness is hitting her. I find when she's in between slots and the harness is very much below her shoulders it irritates the situation more, so I move her to a different car seat that has a harness slot that is more comfortable for her without being above the shoulder. it's a lot of musical car seats....

she's pretty happy in the britax but actually even happier in the true fit due to all the cushions (she can still use them as she's on the second slot only). the myride was ok when she was an infant but now she's out of the infant insert and it's too roomy for her and not very padded. she absolutely hated both the scenera and the onboard infant seat. I haven't tried her in the radian.
 

mom2bnjl

Member
Our oldest daughter had tort- aside from PT, we found the boppy pillow called a noggin nest was helpful for strollers/swings, and we ordered a Zaky for positioning. Good luck!
 
U

Unregistered

Guest
Is the reason it is not safe in the car seat bc of the driving? What about using it in a car seat on walks? We still use car seat with an adapater in the stroller...

Even if you're spending a few hours a day in the car, I think I'd focus more on his time in bed. He's there sleeping for many more hours than he's in the car.

We started noticing the flat spot on our son at about 4 months. We did the obvious positioning and physical therapy but saw not change. By 7 months, I'd seen some seriously dramatic results in my friend's daughter's head so I of course asked what she did. She had ordered a MIMOS PILLOW...not cheap but sooooo worth it. Its like a mesh donut so it doesnt allow the flat part of the head to touch the surface the child is laying on, thereby taking the pressure off it allowing it to form correctly.
http://www.mimospillow.co.uk/

My friend's daughter went from literally straight up from her neck to the top of her head to a perfectly rounded head in 3 weeks! We borrowed it and used it for a few months with my son. We didn't see the dramatic results she did but I think that was cause our lil guy was moving alot more by the time we started so didnt stay on the pillow as well however, after 3 months, his flat spot has filled out to the point where I, and our chiropractor, seem to be the only ones who still see it.

If I had another baby, I'd seriously use one from birth to prevent any potential flattening.

Its breathable! Its washable. Its easy to use in a stroller, bouncer, etc...anywhere a baby is except the car.

It really is an amazing product and we totally credit it for getting rid of the flat spot(whereas any muscle/tendon problems, even my "anti-chiropractic" husband admits the chiro did much more than the physical therapy did)! Can't say enough good things about the Mimos Pillow...I just wish more doctors and PT's knew about it (ours were amazed after seeing our kid's transformation so were going to look into it for future referrals).

Another thing we learned about more recently is Cranial Sacral Therapy that some Physical (or sometimes Massage) Therapists specialize in...seems like another worthwhile non-invasive treatment to look into.
 
Last edited by a moderator:

2BunniesMommy

Well-known member
Wow! This thread is almost 5 years old! So confusing with it showing up in the new area.

I hope the OP found a solution that worked for her son.
 

Jeanum

Admin - CPS Technician Emeritus
Staff member
It's a bit confusing indeed but the newer post fully quoted another member's older post verbatim and asked a question above the quoted part, thus it was approved to address the newer guest poster's question.
 

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