Hypotonia is decreased muscle tone that can occur at any age and can be caused by various medical conditions. It can lead to poor muscle control and difficulty with physical activities. Treatment includes physical therapy and identifying the underlying cause. Sudden loss of muscle tone should be immediately addressed by a doctor.
Hypotonia is a medical term used to describe decreased muscle tone. People with hypotonia have limited resistance to movement, which causes their bodies to become soft and limp. In a classic example of hypotonia, an infant lifted by the armpits will slip out of the parent’s hands because the parent’s arms do not have enough muscle tone for the infant to support itself. This condition usually occurs as part of another medical condition, although it can also appear on its own.
Most cases of hypotonia occur in newborns, although lack of muscle tone can occur at any time in life. The condition can be the result of a congenital disorder such as Tay-Sachs or muscular dystrophy, or an acquired condition, such as rickets, hypothyroidism or encephalitis. In all cases, the limbs have minimal resistance when pulled into flexed positions and the patient is unable to fully flex their limbs.
It can be difficult to narrow down the cause of hypotonia, especially in young patients. In some cases, it reflects a neurological problem that can occur anywhere in the brain or spinal cord, but can also be caused by a myopathy, a problem with the muscles themselves. In cases where the cause is not obvious, the condition may be known as ‘benign congenital hypotonia’, although in reality hypotonia is not always benign in nature.
People with hypotonia experience poor muscle control and may have difficulty chewing, swallowing, and speaking. The condition can be severe enough to prevent the patient from walking and engaging in other physical activities, and can progressively worsen over time if the patient is not provided with adequate supportive care.
When a patient is diagnosed with hypotonia, a doctor usually recommends seeing a neurologist, along with other medical specialists who can narrow down the cause of the condition and offer treatment recommendations. Hypotonia cannot be cured, but physical therapy can be used to help the patient cope and develop skills that can help him live independently. It may even be possible to improve muscle tone with a treatment that will help the patient enjoy a more active life.
If someone develops a sudden loss of muscle tone, they should be taken to the doctor for medical attention, because the loss of muscle tone usually reflects an underlying medical problem. This is especially true in the case of newborns, as newborns cannot communicate with their parents about the symptoms they are experiencing, which means that parents need to be alert to the symptoms they observe in their children.
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