Infant Regularly Tilts Head to One Side

Updated on January 03, 2011
J.B. asks from Brooklyn, NY
9 answers

I have an 11 month-old daughter, and for the past couple of weeks she has been regularly tilting her head to one side (the right side). At first I thought she was doing it to express shyness. She started doing this more frequently a few days ago, and I noticed it was happening when she would crawl, just be playing, or when she would look at someone. I took her to her pediatrician this morning and was told she is fine and that this is probably behavioral. Has anyone else experienced anything similar?

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So What Happened?

Thank you all for your comments. I am pretty confident this is not torticollis as she is 11 months old and has never shown any signs of it prior to recently. Also, the pediatrician considered that as a possible diagnosis, but ruled it out. Please note it is not a constant head tilt. Rather, she periodically tilts her head to one side. There are no other issues with her eyes. Also, she has had a lot of teeth coming in all at once and the pedi mentioned her top and bottom molars are ready to come through. Has anyone else seen this in a child where it was not torticcolis?

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M.W.

answers from St. Cloud on

She may have just slept on it wrong one night and now it's out of alignment. Try taking her to a chiropractor tomorrow and see if that helps!

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G.B.

answers from Boise on

Go to "wrongdiagnosis.com" and type in torticollis. If she has ANY other symptoms (even if you think they are not related) type them in as a second or third symptom. Follow the links to possible causes.

I was told by 4 different pediatricicians my 2 yr old was ok to take home and her high fever and excessive sleepiness was "fine" and would pass. Turned out she had Chronic kidney infection of very virulent bacteria, that damaged her adrenal gland for life. She will be on lifelong hormone replacement. EVEN this was not diagnosed by doctor after doctor (who told me her chronic pain was growing pains). I had to find it out myself with years of medical research. I had to ASK them for specific tests of what I susspected she had.

Just because a pedi tells you to not be concerned doesnt mean they are right. Follow your gut instinct. Always keep seeking answers. You know in your gut there certainly might be an issue here and that is why you are on here looking for answers. Dont give up, Keep a medical journal of your child with the date, ALL symptoms, dr visits- docotr- medicines-reactions-and diagnosis.

Praying for her wellness,

Gail

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J.B.

answers from Phoenix on

When my daughter was born she went to the hospital peditrician and they told me everything was fine with her. Then I looked for my own peditrician because I needed to find out closer to my home and outside the hospital. When I did I made an appointment with her and immediately she noticed my daughter had something called torticollis. This was due to the fact that in the womb my daughters neck leaned to the left side and she never built that neck muscle. So she immediately gave me a referral to a physical therapist since my insurance required a referral. We went to therapy for about 2 months and learned the exercises and you also have to do them at home or it will not be as effective and it could lead to possible surgeries. It takes dedication and committment. I would bring this up to your pedi or get a second opinion. Good luck!

PS Now she is 6 years old and never had to deal with that issue. She is healthy as can be. Again we found it out as newborn and it was corrected by 3 months old.

A.G.

answers from Pocatello on

My first thought was torticollis and I can see other moms have suggested the same thing. If that is what she has she does need Physical Therapy. And it just depends on how bad it is. Some babies only need it for a few months to strengthen up the neck muscles some a little longer cause it's worse. It doesn't sound like hers is bad if she does have it. So just tell your doctor you want to see a PT to have her look at cause regular doctors can't diagnose torticollis. And the sooner you start treatment the faster and easier it will be to correct.

J.B.

answers from Houston on

I have a good friend who started to notice this with her son as well. She never noticed but someone commented on it and that it was cute and it caught her attention that in all photos etc his head was tilted to one side, I think it was the left one. Anyway, she got him checked out and the discovered that his muscles on side were shorter than the other. He had some kind of relatively minor surgery, wore a helmet for a while and is doing great. They decorated his little helmet and it was really cute. I think the helmet was to strengthen the muscles on the side of the neck that was originally shorter. If you go back through pics and notice this is very common or continue to notice it I would bring it back up to your dr and if he/she does nothing, go somewhere else. I mean, for my friend getting it corrected as a baby was no big thing, I don't know if it creates more issues down the line or not. I just saw some pics of her little son and his head looks great :) Good luck!

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S.S.

answers from Miami on

Fire your doctor! It's one of two things....she either has Torticollis or she is having vision issues. Bring her to a physical therapist to check her neck muscles and get some stretches, and bring her to have a developmental vision exam from a developmental optometrist. It is free until they are 12 months of age. Go to the COVD website to see who is in your area. Whichever one it is, she is at HIGH risk for learning disabilities later on if not treated now so do it today!

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M.H.

answers from Atlanta on

HI J.,

Before you go worrying about all these diagnoses, go to a good, upper cervical chiropractor. That is always our first line of defense and a tilt (which I get occasionally from sleeping wrong) can easily be simply a tilt....

If you are at a good chiropractic office and it is something more serious, they can diagnose, and refer you, if need be. If you don't know one in your area go to www.upcspine.com and find one. Interview them just like you would a pediatrician. If they understand the immune system and preventative medicine you're in the right place..

M.

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J.C.

answers from Washington DC on

My son had torticollis, and he would tilt his head to one side. He had to have PT for about 4 months. Gently put your hand on her shoulder and pull her head away from the shoulder that you are holding (that her head is tilting towards.) This stretches it out so if it is uncomfortable for you little one, this may be the problem. Talk with your doctor. It was always worse at a growth spurt because the muscles don't grow, they have to stretch again to keep up. Let me know if you have any other questions.

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K.M.

answers from Tampa on

Find a Webster Chiropractor, and get her checked out,
Behavioral my foot.
best, k

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