[toc]Hypotonia is a condition characterised by decreased resting muscle tone. It could be inherited, congenital or acquired in nature.There are conditions in which the child has hypotonia present right from birth or it could be due to certain organs getting affected during the lifetime which could result into muscle hypotonia.
Decreased muscle tone is usually detected at a very early age in children and in adults it is easy to detect because the region of lesion is sufficient to decide the ailments following it.
Modern medicine has come up with various treatments to manage hypotonia in people. Diagnosing it early is the battle half won. The earlier the diagnosis, the easier it is to treat the patient. Otherwise, it could even prove to be irreversible. Here are some symptoms of hypotonia:
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5 Symptoms Of Hypotonia
Muscular Weakness
90% of the time, hypotonia is associated with muscular weakness. The child has difficulty is sucking or swallowing the food.Sometimes, in severe cases, difficulty in breathing is also noticed. Hand and legs tend to hang down like they aren’t capable of supporting themselves and the child seems limp.
Easy Dislocation
Due to the lack of muscle strength and hypotonia, bones are easily dislocated. The muscles provide strength and stability to the bone so that it stays in its position and is not easily dislocated. Even during movements, the muscles provide a lever to move on and they are known as the dynamic stabilizers of joint movement. Without any muscle tone, the joint and bones around it become weak and as a result, dislocations are extremely common.
Delayed Milestones
Due to a decreased muscle tone and weakness in muscular structures, the kid faces difficulty in achieving milestones like sitting, standing and walking. This can also be called as delayed growth development which is present as a result of the hypotonia.
The kid is unable to eat on his own and is also unable to perform activities that kids his or her age can perform easily. Inability to bear weight on the limbs is also noticed as the limb is too weak to support any kind of weight.
Floppy Neck Muscles
The neck muscles are the first muscles to be activated when the baby is about 3 to 4 months old. When the child is affected by hypotonia, the neck remains floppy as if no muscle power is generated in them. The baby is unable to hold the head up on his own and there is almost no control of the head.
Inability To Change Positions
Somebody who is affected with hypotonia will have difficulty in getting up from sitting position or sitting up from lying down position. All these changes in positions come as a result of the ability to bear weight on extremities.
However, as this is lacking in the hypotonic patient, the person will face frequent falls and will be overall clumsy in nature.Hypotonia could be caused due to a number of reasons, but the difficulties the patient faces are similar so the treatments are similar as well. Treating such a condition as quick as possible is the key to a good progress.