The birth process is often a first source of trauma for children.
At only 4 months old, Olivia had already spent 8 weeks of her life going to physical therapy. She was born with torticollis—restriction in the neck that caused her head to remain tilted not straight.
Olivia tended to cry during the physical therapy stretches because the stretching movements were in the direction her neck just didn’t want to bend. But because they seemed to be slowly, slowly helping, Mom kept taking her. Mom was even faithfully performing more of them at home between the sessions.
Well fed and rested, Olivia smiled and cooed through her first 30-minute visit with me. Fascial counterstrain techniques only take her head in the direction it feels comfortable, so Olivia stayed interested in her toys, not the treatment. Her head tilt resolved that first day, so I did not expect to see her beautiful face again.
A month later, Mom returned with a new problem she noticed.
“She cries when I make her legs bend up in the front carrier.”
This visit, we focused on her spine and lower extremities. After releasing the restrictions I found, we tested Olivia’s ability to be in the “scrunched carrier position.” She was still smiling.
Babies also feel more joy when their movement is restored.
