Infant Neck Strain from Birth Process

Babies can have suboccipital strain (neck) from the birth process alone. A. Towbin recognized and published in 1969 that forceful traction during childbirth causes brainstem bleeding and is associated with SIDS. In addition, he states that respiratory depression in the newborn is a commonly overlooked sign of cervical (neck) injury. In addition, Manual Medicine 1992 published a study by Biedermann in which 600 babies were treated for suboccipital (upper neck) strain. The main symptoms included torticollis, fever of unknown origin, loss of appetite, swelling of one side of the facial soft tissues, asymmetric development of skull, crying when the mother tried to change the child's position, and extreme sensitivity of the neck when touched. Most patients required one to three adjustments before returning to normal.