Hypotonia means low muscle tone. ‘Hypo-‘ means low and -‘tonia’ means tone. Muscle tone refers to the amount of tension in a muscle. Muscle tone allows us to keep an upright posture and move against gravity. Changes in muscle tone is what allows our body to move. A child with low muscle tone may have trouble maintaining appropriate posture for their age and development.The cause of low muscle tone depends if it is secondary to another condition or not.
There are many genetic conditions such as Down’s Syndrome or Muscular Dystrophy that are associated with low tone. When there is no known cause it is labelled as “Benign Congenial Hypotonia”. Benign implies that there is no harm or underlying cause, however if left without intervention, children with low tone can become delayed in their development which can impact movement, speech, learning and other aspects of their life
Signs your child may have low tone:
- Soft muscles and ability to move limbs further than normal (‘Double-jointed’)
- Failure to achieve developmental milestones within an appropriate time frame
- Problems with feeding, sucking, chewing (eg. children who prefer soft, mushy foods)
- Open mouth posture, sometimes with a protruding tongue or excessive dribbling
- W-sit position, with knees in and feet out to the sides* Walking with feet turned out and ankles rolling in
Things you can do with your child to improve muscle tone:
- If you think your child may have decreased tone, the first step should be to see your choice of health practitioner to have them assessed. Hands-on therapy can be extremely beneficial to increase tone in muscles.
- Deep pressure massage helps with the brain’s awareness of the body which can help tone.
- As muscle tone allows us to keep an upright posture and move against gravity, playing in gravity (without support toys such as walkers/jumpers) helps to develop the muscles important for postural development. Floor play is the best kind of play for babies.
- Rocking, swinging and all kinds of movement are very important for children with low tone. If parents have noticed their babies aren’t as ‘strong’ as they should be, they may tend to avoid this kind of play, however it is important for input into the child’s nervous system.
Tummy time is one of the best ways you can encourage nervous system development and muscle tone in your baby. I am holding a workshop for parents and babies to explain the all important information: Why tummy time is so important; How much tummy time is needed and; Different positions you can try with your baby.
Check out the event here – https://fb.me/e/3QCygqJtb
Or you can book directly through this link – https://bit.ly/39xE496