By Jonathan Pitts

If your baby tends to tilt his or her head to one side and the focus of vision is always in one direction, then probably the infant is suffering from torticollis. There are some cases called as acquired torticollis, are thought to be more serious as they are a result of a tumor or a mass in the spine or brain. But, the incidence of these is pretty rare. The more common cause can be the baby being born with a congenital torticollis and this can easily be cured. The condition is caused as a result of the positioning in the womb or a trauma caused during the delivery. The condition is also called as wry neck.

It is important that after you have observed this condition yourself, you should take your baby to a pediatrician immediately to get the right treatment. If the condition is diagnosed early it can easily be corrected. Once the condition has been diagnosed the doctor sets up a routine of exercise and stretching program that can be done either by the parents or a physical therapist. During these sessions, the neck muscles of the baby are strengthened with the help of massage and gentle exercises. As for parents they can play with the baby and encourage him or her to move their view and neck in the other direction.

This can be done by holding a toy or making interesting sounds on the other side and repeat, this should practice on both the sides. The baby can be laid down and you can stand and talk to him or her while helping them concentrates the focus on you. You can also place the baby on the tummy and hold toys above them to have them look at it. You can also make use of stroller toys and move the toys right in front of the baby to help them concentrate. Taking the baby for regular physiotherapy sessions can help alleviate the condition. Proper exercising will help fix the problem and if a schedule is followed regularly it can be corrected by the time the baby is 18 months old.

There are a number of toys available in the market that can help you in your baby to come out of this problem. On the same hand, you should realize that the baby will take time in responding to such treatments and you need to have patience. Also, the baby cannot communicate and neither can he or she understand what you are speaking, so it is important for you to deal correctly with the situation. It has been prove that regular sessions of physiotherapy have been proved to be helpful for many infants to recover from torticollis. In some cases where physical therapies fail to work, doctors might suggest a surgery. The sooner the problem is diagnosed the effective the treatment would become. However, it is important that you should consult a doctor as soon as possible so that you can get the best advice and the treatment can be started soon.