Beyond Concussion: Head Injuries at Birth

The unexpected head injury — birth

As we explore head injuries this month it is easy to overlook events from our very entry into this world.

There are so many ways that a baby’s head gets stressed at birth. Yes, there is supposed to be lots of stress at birth. However, in a number of birth scenarios there is an inordinate level of stress. Some of the birth scenarios include when the head positioning is oriented wrong, baby is breech or sunnyside-up, has torticolis or has a wrapped umbilical cord.

Often the most traumatic birth injury is to the neck. The neck is the essential connector of the body and head, so the unusual stress often can have hidden implications. The head itself is designed to compress and re-expand; the neck is not.

Head and neck injuries cause challenges for babies developmentally. They can also be a factor in movement and pain issues for kids and adults years later.

We can get you back on track and William’s story (below) is just one example.

Birth, a head injury issue?

In the U.S. alone, there are an average of 6-8 injuries per 1000 live births each year. A higher risk is associated with larger infants, born with a birth weight of 9.9 pounds or more. (traumaticbraininjury.com)

Yes, this is rare, but when it’s your child its personal. We take a different perspective related to early movement development to get your child on track, allowing them to continue subsequent development on their own.

Meet William …

It was a different sort of head issue but the developmental challenges and how we helped him were the same as if he had an accidental head injury.

William came into the world with the plates in his head fused. Called craniosynostosis, his head didn’t compress during birth. The hard labor took four hours and he had bruises on his head when born.

• In a 2008 study of the metropolitan area of Atlanta, GA, CDC estimated that craniosynostosis affects about 4 in 10,000 live births (.04%, so quite rare.)

William had cranial surgery to allow his head to expand as he grows. The birth compression and various aspects related to the surgery had gotten him slightly off track with his developmental progression.

Read more about his story and how Kinetic Konnections was able to keep him on track developmentally.

At the age of two he is right on track with all of his milestones!

A unique five-step process to get you back to better function

We take your entire history into account looking at how your head, core and limbs currently work together compared to how they are naturally supposed to work together. This leads us to the missing piece of your puzzle and allows us to get you back on your way to moving well.

The steps in our unique problem-solving process include:

Sharing resources

During October, I am focused on different scenarios of head injury and how the Kinetic Konnections’ unique perspective addresses overlooked aspects which are essential to recovery.

The four head injury scenarios discussed this month:

• Cleared, but still struggling (read here)
• Not a concussion, just a head injury (read here)
• Lost my balance again (read here)
• The unsuspected head trauma (this week)

In our FB videos I share a more detailed explanation of how we resolve head injury issues using the Bridging technique. (You do not need a FB account to watch.)