Infantile colic: is a pain syndrome.
The hypothesis states that infantile colic is a pain syndrome and the excessive crying leads to aerophagia and abdominal discomfort. The pain comes from sucking the bottle or the nipple. Feeding for the infant is a heavy workload for the masticatory muscles. The tiny digastricus muscle moves the hyoid bone, takes part in opening the mouth and retrusion of the mandible and assists in mowing the tongue upward, forward and backwards. In the adult population pain from this muscle is well documented. The hypothesis explains the crying as being due to muscular pain at first, later on pain from the origins and insertions of the muscle. Then with increased muscular strength and development the pain fades away.
Gudmundsson
Gardar
G
Private Praxis, Kjalarland 30, Neurosurgeon, Reykjavik, Iceland. gardar@me.com
D003085:Colic / Q000209:etiology*; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D009334:Neck Muscles / Q000503:physiopathology*; D019547:Neck Pain / Q000150:complications*; D013391:Sucking Behavior / Q000502:physiology*