Speech difficulties can result from hypotonia. Fine motor skills delays occur in grasping a toy or finger, transferring a small object from hand to hand, pointing out objects, following movement with the eyes, and self-feeding. Hypotonic infants are late in lifting their heads while lying on their stomachs, rolling over, lifting themselves into a sitting position, remaining seated without falling over, balancing, crawling, and sometimes walking. They can be divided into two areas, gross motor skills, and fine motor skills, both of which are affected. Motor skills are particularly susceptible to the low-tone disability. Most low-tone infants have delayed developmental milestones, but the length of delay can vary widely. Hypotonic infants often have difficulty feeding, as their mouth muscles cannot maintain a proper suck-swallow pattern, or a good breastfeeding latch.Ĭhildren with normal muscle tone are expected to achieve certain physical abilities within an average time frame after birth. Often, the movement of the head is uncontrollable, not in the sense of spasmatic movement, but chronic ataxia. They are unable to maintain flexed ligaments, and are able to extend them beyond normal lengths. Infants who suffer from hypotonia are often described as feeling and appearing as though they are “rag dolls”. The term “floppy infant syndrome” is used to describe abnormal limpness when an infant is born. Their arms and legs hang straight down from their sides, rather than bending at their elbows, hips and kneesĪ weak cry or quiet voice in infants and young childrenĪ child with hypotonia often takes longer to reach motor developmental milestones, such as sitting up, crawling, walking, talking, and feeding themselves.Īn adult with hypotonia may have the following problems:ĭifficulty getting up from a lying or sitting positionĪn unusually high degree of flexibility in the hips, elbows and kneesĭifficulty reaching for or lifting objects (in cases where there’s also muscle weakness) Having little or no control of their neck muscles, so their head tends to flopįeeling limp when held, as though they could easily slip through your handsīeing unable to place any weight on their leg or shoulder muscles Newborn babies and young children with severe hypotonia are often described as being “floppy”. Hypotonia present at birth is often noticeable by the time a child is 6 months old, if not before. A child with hypotonia may also have problems with speech or exhibit shallow breathing.Some children with hypotonia may have trouble feeding, if they are unable to suck or chew for long periods.There is a tendency for hip, jaw and neck dislocations to occur.Position and remain seated without falling over. When placed on the stomach, balance themselves or get into a sitting Infants may lag behind in acquiring certain fine and gross motorĭevelopmental milestones that enable a baby to hold his or her head up.It’s most commonly detected in babies soon after birth or at a very young age, although it can also develop later in life.Īn infant with hypotonia exhibits a floppy quality or “rag doll” feeling when h e or she is held. In some conditions, muscle weakness sometimes develops in association with hypotonia. Hypotonia isn’t the same as muscle weakness, although it can be difficult to use the affected muscles. Muscle tone decreases during sleep, so if you fall asleep sitting up, you may wake up with your head flopped forward. They retain a certain amount of tension and stiffness (muscle tone) that can be felt as resistance to movement.įor example, a person relies on the tone in their back and neck muscles to maintain their position when standing or sitting up. Hypotonia is the medical term for decreased muscle tone. Hypotonia, commonly known as floppy baby syndrome, is a state of low muscle tone (the amount of tension or resistance to stretch in a muscle), often involving reduced muscle strength.
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