Newborn arches back: hypertonicity or reflux?
It is not uncommon for parents to ask for advice, explaining that their newborn arches his back very often. Often they are told that it is nothing to worry about, that it is just tantrums or reflux.
But is it really like that?
Spoiler alert: absolutely not!
Although neonatal gastroesophageal reflux is an extremely common problem in infants (both breastfed and formula-fed), it is not usually the cause of the baby's arched back.
Every month I treat hundreds of newborns to successfully cure gastroesophageal reflux and gas colic (read more than 260 verified reviews on Google by typing Matteo Silva Osteopath ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐).
In this article and in the dedicated video course I will explain what gastroesophageal reflux in newborns really is, the real causes why it occurs and how to treat it effectively .
Before starting, I'll leave you some useful information:
- If you would like to schedule a studio visit with me, you can find me here.
- You can also find me on Instagram with the profile @drsilva.com_official
- Find an in-depth video course on how to treat infant reflux here .
1. What is reflux?
If your newborn arches his back and head, you have most likely been told that it may be due to reflux .
I'll tell you in advance that this is not the reason and to understand the real cause let's see what reflux is. In fact, many children have reflux, but they don't arch their backs.
Reflux is a gastrointestinal problem caused by inflammation of the stomach and intestines in newborns. This causes milk to flow up the esophagus, or regurgitation.
A child suffering from this problem tends to be fussy and cry due to the pain of the inflammation.
When a newborn arches his back and head, your baby activates his back muscles because he is uncomfortable due to some contractures. Therefore, reflux is not the cause, but it can accentuate this attitude due to the discomfort and pain it causes in the little one.
Causes of reflux
Gastroesophageal reflux , regurgitation and vomiting in newborns are some of the most frequent and disabling problems for children in the first months of life.
Unfortunately, in most cases reflux is defined as "physiological" only because the child (fortunately) gains weight, despite suffering and crying more or less markedly.
Neonatal reflux is considered a normal problem that some newborns are destined for without a specific cause, perhaps caused by a fateful immaturity of the cardia (spoiler: false), or the valve that closes the stomach at the top.
After having studied these problems in depth and having successfully resolved thousands of cases of reflux in newborns, I can affirm that reflux is not at all normal or physiological, on the contrary.
Gastroesophageal reflux , vomiting and regurgitation in newborns (as well as colic) are caused by an inflammatory and irritative condition of the stomach (and of the gastrointestinal tract – see subsequent scientific studies).
Also why, in your opinion, can gastrointestinal immaturity alone really cause so much pain to the child?
The answer is NO , quite the opposite.
The real cause of the child suffering from reflux , crying and feeling unwell is an inflammatory and irritating condition of the stomach (and often of the entire gastrointestinal system).
This irritating picture causes digestive difficulty, an alteration of gastric transit, a swollen abdomen, possible regurgitation and certainly pain in the child.
But what causes reflux?
The answer is simple: anything that is poorly digested by a child irritates and inflames the child's gastrointestinal system (just as it happens in adults).
Anything that is poorly digested by the baby causes both reflux and gas colic; this is why these problems often coexist.
This does not mean that breast milk or formula are the wrong foods for the baby, but it does mean that some parameters such as the mother's diet , the type of formula and other essential factors make the milk difficult for the baby to digest and, consequently, irritate and inflame the stomach.
In fact, to solve these problems it is necessary to know all 7 factors that irritate the gastrointestinal system and which I have summarized in the video course ''Prevention and Treatment of Colic and Reflux in Newborns''.
In this video course you will find all my work experience that led me to successfully design my innovative approach to newborn gastrointestinal problems, such as reflux and gas colic.
Thanks to the suggested precautions and applied massages , every parent can prevent or improve physiological gastroesophageal reflux in the newborn in 15/21 days.
NB: these precautions do not replace the therapies recommended by the pediatrician but are combined with them to help your child feel truly well.
2. What is hypertonicity in the newborn?
So, if reflux isn’t the cause of your baby’s arched back, what’s the real reason?
The child is able to do this movement due to muscular hypertonicity , that is, an increase in the tone of the back and neck muscles of the child who does not suffer from pathological or neurological disorders.
The pediatrician will make a diagnosis by evaluating how often the child tends to arch his back, how tense the paravertebral muscles are and many other parameters.
It is important to clarify that in this case we are talking about hypertonicity in a healthy child . In fact, the same term is also used when this occurs as a consequence of the presence of neurological problems.
3. The newborn arches his back: causes
To understand the real reason for this movement of the newborn we must ask ourselves why the newborn arches his back?
For the presence of contractures in the back and neck area .
These may be present due to intrauterine malpositions and/or due to a difficult birth. In fact, especially if oxytocin is used, the ventouse or the baby took a long time to come out of the birth canal, contractures in the cervical and dorsal area may occur in a more or less marked way.
4. Symptoms of hypertonicity in newborns
In order to recognize hypertonicity in newborns , or the presence of back contractures, it is possible to pay attention to some attitudes in the little one:
- The newborn arches his back and head:
- He often detaches himself from the breast by pushing his head backwards;
- He cannot lie on his back, he arches and tends to rotate his head 90 degrees or lies on his side;
- He is often annoying and irritable;
- He has difficulty sleeping on his back;
- It's hard to put him to sleep.
The newborn arches his back and suffers from gastrointestinal problems
As you may have noticed, there are some behaviors that are very similar to the manifestations of gastro-intestinal problems. It is possible, in fact, that your baby has both reflux or colic and back contractures.
However, it is important to understand that gastrointestinal problems do not cause the newborn to arch his back.
A newborn who suffers from reflux tends to cry a lot and has difficulty sleeping, while one who has contractures sleeps peacefully, but arched.
5. Consequences for the newborn who arches his back
First of all, it is important to say that contractures do not necessarily go away on their own because it depends on their severity.
Furthermore, not intervening means leaving the child to suffer from these discomforts and risking that he/she will manifest more serious problems.
Contractures, in fact, cause a delay in motor development because the child has difficulty remaining in certain positions. In addition to this, they can also determine the onset of flat head .
In fact, arching and keeping the head at 90° can lead the baby to develop dolichocephaly , or the flattening of the skull on the sides of the head.
6. Hypertonicity: How to Help a Newborn Who Arches His Back
It is important to be able to resolve contractures and stiffness .
As a pediatric osteopath I have treated and treated many newborns with this problem through delicate and effective osteopathic massages.
In fact, I act on the lumbar, dorsal and cervical muscles, relaxing the muscles and restoring correct joint mobility.
Usually 3-4 sessions are sufficient to completely resolve the problem.
If reflux is also present, it is important to address this as well.
When the baby arches his back, along with my treatments, I teach parents the Osteo-massage of the back. These are a sequence of massages that parents can do to their little one to relax the muscles and calm him down.
You can find these massage techniques in my video course Osteo-massage where you will also discover how to massage the mouth, lower limbs and belly of the little one to best promote his development and posture.