30 Jun Have you been told that your baby needs spinal manipulations to correct a head tilt
Have you been told that your baby needs spinal manipulations to correct a head tilt
Perhaps your baby has been receiving spinal adjustments and manipulations to correct their head tilt but it’s not making any difference to the head tilt, except cause your baby extreme distress
Recently at My Favourite Physio, we met gorgeous 12 month old, 
Master P. Mum and Dad reported noticing that Master P had a head tilt right from the first day he was born. They went to a Chiropractor when Master P was 8 months old. The Chiropractor advised that baby needed spinal adjustments to correct their head tilt. To carry out the treatment, 3 people were required to hold down Master P as he screamed and thrashed around. After many sessions, Master P’s head tilt did not correct instead he became very wary and upset if anyone tried to touch his head.
3 reasons why spinal manipulations are inappropriate and ineffective in correcting baby’s head tilt
1. There is no evidence 
to prove that spinal manipulations are actually effective in babies and children. In fact, studies have shown that spinal manipulations are dangerous and can cause severe spinal cord damage to babies as it doesn’t take much force to cause serious damage in their spines.
2. The cause of baby’s head tilt is a tight neck muscle called the Sternocleidomastoid muscle, that goes from baby’s chest bone, collar bone to mastoid bone at the back of their head. It is not due to a misaligned neck joint.
3. Baby was born with the tight sternocleidomastoid muscle. As such, with every growth spurt, baby will appear to have a head tilt. Treatment needs to be focused on stretching the tight muscle while strengthening the opposite neck muscle.
Here at My Favourite Physio, our Expert Paediatric Physiotherapists are able to correct baby’s head tilt effectively without spinal manipulations. The key is to treat the underlying cause of baby’s head tilt, which is the tight Sternocleidomastoid Muscle.
So if you are concerned about your baby’s head tilt, reach out to My Favourite Physio 
on (02) 9790 4233 or DM us @myfavouritephysio. Find out how we can help your baby today!