Your Guide to Torticollis and Flat Heads in Bismarck

As a new parent, you spend hours just staring at your baby. You notice every little detail. Eventually, you might start to notice a pattern: your baby always sleeps with their head turned to the right. Or perhaps when you act silly to grab their attention, they only seem to track you with their eyes, rather than turning their whole head.

Usually, not long after noticing this "favorite side," you might notice something else—a flat spot developing on the back or side of their head.

If you have brought this up to a pediatrician, you may have heard the common phrase: "Don't worry, they will grow out of it."

At Maximized Chiropractic, we know that parental instinct is rarely wrong. While common, these issues are definitely not "normal." They are often signs of underlying tension that can affect your baby’s development. We are here to validate your concerns and offer a proactive, gentle solution!

Connecting the Dots: Torticollis and Plagiocephaly

While they are two separate conditions, Torticollis and Plagiocephaly (flat head syndrome) almost always go hand-in-hand. Understanding the connection is the first step toward resolving it.

Torticollis (The Cause): Often called "wry neck," congenital torticollis occurs when the muscles on one side of the baby's neck (specifically the SCM muscle) are tight, shortened, or in spasm. This makes it uncomfortable, difficult, or even impossible for the baby to turn their head freely in both directions.

Plagiocephaly (The Effect): Because of the neck tension caused by torticollis, the baby is forced to lay in the exact same position whenever they are on their back. Because infant skulls are incredibly soft and pliable, this constant pressure on one specific spot causes the head to flatten.

The vicious cycle: The tighter the neck, the more they favor one side. The more they favor one side, the flatter the head gets.

Looking Deeper: The Root Cause

Why does this happen? It’s not just "bad luck."

The birth process—even a "normal," unmedicated vaginal birth—is incredibly demanding on a baby’s delicate spine and nervous system. C-sections, vacuum extraction, or forceps delivery add significant amounts of traction and rotational stress to their upper neck.

Even worse, most babies are cramped in utero in a less-than-ideal position for weeks before birth.

These stressors cause misalignments in the upper neck (what we call subluxations). These shifts irritate their nervous system, causing their nerves to fire improperly and their neck muscles to lock up in a protective state.

When we see a baby with a flat head, we don't just look at their head. We look at the neck tension and nervous system interference that caused it.

The Maximized Approach: Gentle Correction

Parents are often terrified that chiropractic care for an infant involves cracking or twisting. It does not.

Our approach to pediatric care is incredibly gentle, specific, and safe. The amount of pressure used to adjust an infant is roughly the same amount you’d use to check the ripeness of a tomato.

Our goal is not to force the neck straight. Our goal is to gently remove the interference in their nervous system and align their spine so your baby’s own body can relax.

How chiropractic helps:

1. Restoring Motion: By gently correcting misalignments in the upper neck, we allow the tight muscles to relax.

2. Breaking the Cycle: Once the baby can turn their head freely to both sides, they naturally stop laying on the flat spot.

3. Natural Rounding: As pressure is removed from the flat area, the skull begins to round out naturally as the brain grows.

Don't Wait and See

While tummy time and repositioning techniques are helpful tools, they often fail to address the root cause: the structural and neurological inability of the baby to turn their neck comfortably.

The earlier we can address nervous system tension in an infant, the faster their body responds and the better their long-term developmental trajectory.

If you are concerned about your baby's head shape or neck movement, trust your gut. Let’s get them checked to ensure their nervous system is clear and they are free to move and grow without restriction!