Have you woken up and noticed you can't turn your neck or even your head is tilted down and your chin pointing away from that side?! You have most likely experienced torticollis. This is due to the muscle in your neck, the sternocleidomastoid muscle shortening. There are many types of torticollis and it can occur at any age.

The two main categories of adult torticollis are;

Spasmodic
Acquired (caused by a virus - yes you read the correctly), injury or vigorous movement)

Most commonly I see muscular and/or osseous torticollis, which present in a spasmodic nature. This is most likely due to sleeping on a pillow that is either too soft or too hard. Can also be due to repetitive or sustained head posture, ie looking at a phone or computer screen. Can also be due to irritation or restrictions in the neck joints or muscles. Further to this it can also be from poor neck, shoulder and upper back posture.

Chiropractic care is likely to help with certain types of torticollis. Some treatment options I use here at Nomad Chiropractic are chiropractic adjustments and mobilisations to get the joints moving, soft tissue therapies to release tension in the surrounding muscles and stretching to get the movement back.

Some home care advice for adults with torticollis:

Gentle stretch the tilted side of your head away from the tilt
Shoulder rolls, back and forwards
Try looking to the opposite/none tilted side.
Chin tucks

Click here for some home exercise videos

Questions? Get in touch!