I decided to write a blog post specifically about a condition I was born with. Surprisingly, I never even heard the term Torticollis until I was in my early 30s and visited a chiropractor for the first time.
The Early Years I was born with hip dysplasia and spent the first six weeks of my life in a body brace. This condition caused one of my legs to be longer than the other, so once I started walking, I had to wear special shoes with a lift to even things out.
Throughout all of this, nothing was ever mentioned about my neck. My parents were only 16 and 18 when I was born; they simply believed my physical alignment was due to my hip. Since the doctors never brought up correcting my neck, and my parents were so young, it just wasn't on anyone's radar.
Surgeries and Milestones When I was around 11 or 12, I had surgery at Scottish Rite Hospital. The doctors scraped out growth tissue from behind my knee to slow down the growth in that leg, allowing the other one to catch up. At the time, the difference was about an inch—which is a lot when it comes to the limbs you walk on!
By the time I hit 16, I was finally done seeing doctors for my hips and legs. I had reached my full height of 5'5", and the difference in my legs was so slight that there were no longer orthopedic blocks thin enough to measure the discrepancy. Still, my neck was never mentioned.
The Turning Point I continued with life, and for a long time, my neck wasn't a major issue. Occasionally, people would ask if I had a "crick in my neck," which always embarrassed me, but it happened so rarely that I didn't think much of it.
That changed in my early 30s. I started experiencing significant pain in the same hip that was dislocated at birth, and the pain began traveling up into my back and neck. My husband had recently started seeing a chiropractor to manage his own pain without relying on pills, and he had seen great results.
Following his lead, I decided to make an appointment—not knowing that one visit was about to change how I understood my own body forever.
Next week, I’ll share Part 2: The moment I finally heard the word "Torticollis" for the first time, and what the journey toward treatment looks like today.
