Many people know what tone is. But only some parents ask the pediatrician whether the newborn’s muscle tone is okay. There are deviations from the norm both in the direction of relaxation and in the direction of muscle overstrain.
The baby begins to move while in the tummy. The joints and muscles of the formed fetus are designed so that it can roll over, push and feel itself in space due to the flexion and extension of its limbs.
As soon as the child is born, he tries to repeat the movements he makes in the womb. Naturally, this is not so easy for him outside the amniotic fluid. Therefore, the movements of newborns are always jerky, they lack smoothness and coordination. But newborns must have tone. Whether it's normal or not is another matter.
For physical and psychological development, the infant must have adequate muscle tone. This means maintaining minimal muscle tension even in a state of complete rest of the body, for example, in sleep. This is called tone.
When inactive, muscles work (strain) differently. Their intensity depends on the task being performed and the workload. Moreover, than younger child, the more it depends on the tone. Many mothers note that the newborn constantly tightens his arms and legs - this is normal. In this way, he is trying to recreate his usual intrauterine position, which he occupied for 9 months.
Normal tone muscles in newborns are arms and legs slightly bent and pressed to the body, as well as a head tilted back. The fact is that the increased tone, which persists in a child up to 3-4 months, is higher in the flexor muscles. This is especially clearly expressed in the position of the legs - they are constantly spread apart and half-bent. When you try to straighten them, the muscles provide noticeable resistance. Usually by the age of six months, hypertonicity disappears. And by the age of 1.5–2 years, the child’s tone becomes the same as that of an adult,
Deviation from the norm is considered muscle relaxation (hypotonicity), increased tension - hypertonicity - maintained even in sleep, and muscle dystonia - uneven tone. Each of these conditions is expressed in its own way, but they all bring discomfort to the baby and require timely treatment.
Types of pathology of muscle tone
Regular examinations with a pediatrician will allow you to timely detect symptoms of tone in newborns and take appropriate measures. The diagnosis must be confirmed by a neurologist, but parents can notice the first signs of abnormalities on their own.
1. Most common increased tone muscles in newborns. This pathology is expressed in the child’s constant restlessness, frequent crying for no reason, and lack or disturbance of sleep. In addition, babies with hypertonicity are extremely excitable, they wake up from every rustle, and can cry in bright light. When screaming, these children often have a chin that trembles. They also eat poorly, and after feedings they regurgitate almost all the milk they suck.
Increased muscle tone in newborns is easy to notice almost from the first days of life: these babies hold their heads well and press their limbs to their bodies. If you try to straighten an arm or leg, you may encounter serious muscle resistance. In addition, with such manipulations, the child often begins to cry. And if you repeat the procedure of extending the limb, the muscle resistance will increase each time. This is precisely the most striking sign of hypertonicity.
If hypertension is not treated in time, it will be noticeable in adulthood. For example, people with increased muscle tone often walk on tiptoes, leaning on their toes, which is why their shoes wear out in front.
Newborns with hypertonicity not only hold their heads well from the first days of life. At the same time, they may suffer from curvature of the neck muscles. This occurs if there was trauma during childbirth. cervical spine spine.
The pathogenesis of tone in newborns may have both physiological and viral nature. For example, if during pregnancy or childbirth the child’s cerebral cortex was damaged, resulting in an increase in intracranial pressure, then from the first days of life the baby may experience perinatal encephalopathy. It is this pathology that can provoke hypertension.
Also, a deviation from the norm can occur against the background of infection of a pregnant woman with various viral infections.
Hypertonicity is diagnosed if muscle tension does not correspond to the child’s age. That is, up to six months, such a picture is the norm, and at 7–8 months it is a pathology.
2. Much more should concern parents weak muscle tone in newborns, called hypotonia. Nevertheless, it is precisely this condition that arouses suspicion the least, but in vain. External calm and problem-free behavior of a child can be pathological.
Children with hypotension, at first glance, seem to be a gift from heaven - they rarely cry, sleep all night long, and during the day they do not cause much trouble, obediently allowing any manipulation to be carried out on them - washing, feeding, dressing. They just have difficulty waking up on their own, do not breastfeed well, often fall asleep during feedings, and do not gain weight.
Hypotonia itself is not a disease. This is a symptom indicating any abnormalities:
- neurological (perinatal encephalopathy);
- neuromuscular (spinal amyotrophy);
- chromosomal (Down syndrome).
Also, decreased muscle tone, especially if it does not appear immediately, may indicate diabetes mellitus, polio, rickets and other diseases.
Still, don't panic. It is quite possible that what parents mistook for signs of hypotension is simply a feature of the child’s temperament. The character manifests itself from the first day of life, so it is possible that the baby simply inherited a phlegmatic disposition from one of his relatives.
3. Dystonia is called asymmetrical or uneven tone muscles in newborns. With this deviation, the baby has signs of both hypertonicity and hypotonicity.
The easiest way to identify muscle dystonia is to place the baby on the tummy. With asymmetric tone, the baby will roll over to the side where hypertonicity is observed. At the same time, his body will bend in an arc from the neck to the foot.
When lying on his back, a child with muscular dystonia will constantly bend his head and pelvis to one side. In addition, limbs with increased tone will be tightened, and those with decreased tone will be relaxed. Dystonia that affects all muscle groups is called generalized. In addition, there is focal dystonia, which develops in one part of the body, for example, the limbs.
In addition, muscular dystonia can be primary or secondary. The first develops against the background of chromosomal abnormalities or on its own, without affecting other organs.
The second is due to a genetic disease - Wilson-Konovalov syndrome, associated with a disorder of copper metabolism. In this case, dystonia is just the tip of the iceberg, hiding serious pathologies in the development of the central nervous system. nervous system And internal organs.
All these facts once again confirm the need for regular monitoring of the newborn by a pediatrician, as well as postpartum examinations.
Methods for treating muscle tone in infants
If you are concerned about something in your child’s behavior or condition, consult a doctor. If there are clear signs of increased, decreased or uneven muscle tone, insist on a full examination. It's better to be safe than to miss the moment when symptoms begin to progress. Moreover, the treatment muscle tone quite accessible and almost painless for a child if carried out on time.
The main therapy for any type of tone is massage and exercise . But sessions can only be carried out with the permission of a neurologist, otherwise there is a risk of harming the child and aggravating his condition.
For children with hypertonicity, a relaxing massage is recommended, which is carried out in a course of 10 procedures. After the full course, you need to take a six-month interval and then repeat the sessions.
Massage with increased muscle tone should be accompanied by various manipulations: electrophoresis, swimming, therapeutic exercises . The sooner therapy is carried out, the less likely it is that hypertension will leave consequences for the child’s health.
If the problem is not detected in a timely manner, the baby’s condition can become serious. In such cases, various drugs . For example, to relieve spasms and dilate blood vessels before a massage, the child is injected with Dibazol. In addition, B vitamins (B6, B12), most often prescribed by injection, become an auxiliary treatment.
Relaxing massage done through gentle stroking. Movements are carried out both with an open palm and with bent fingers. You can also stroke the baby’s limbs using a palm grip. All movements are upward.
First you need to gently rub the baby's body in a circular motion, gently moving his skin from bottom to top. At the end, you need to quickly but gently shake the baby’s arms and legs, carefully moving them to the side. A relaxing massage eliminates patting and chopping movements with the edge of the palm.
Weak muscle tone in newborns can also be treated with massage, but the movements are of a different nature. Muscles need to be warmed up to activate their tone and stimulate growth. Such therapy necessarily involves chopping movements and patting. Almost all massages for hypotension are based on them.
The movements should be upward, quite intense, going from the periphery to the center. But it’s still worth remembering that there’s a baby in front of you and counting on your strength.
For dystonia muscles will have to combine two types of massage - relaxing and stimulating. Naturally, soft stroking should be done on the side where there are signs of hypertonicity, and patting on the side where there are symptoms of hypotonicity.
In addition to massage, it is worth doing exercises with your baby on an inflatable ball - fitball . It’s easier for parents to do them together - dad, for example, will press the baby’s legs with their feet folded together against the surface of the ball, and mom will simultaneously gently pull the baby’s arms.
It must be remembered that parents cannot diagnose and prescribe treatment on their own. Only a neurologist is able to identify areas of muscle tension and prescribe appropriate therapy. It is the doctor who decides whether to supplement the massage with special heating - azokyrite boots.
Signs of abnormal muscle tone can constantly change. Therefore, you need to regularly show your child to the doctor and monitor his condition not only during the treatment period, but also after it.
Many tips for treating tone in newborns belong to the legendary healer Vanga. Some of them are recognized by official medicine. But it is up to parents to decide whether to put them into practice.
For example, the relaxing baths recommended by Vanga will be relevant when hypertonicity and now. They are made with sea salt, pine needles, as well as valerian, motherwort, and sage. After such baths, a relaxing massage will be more effective. The concentration and frequency of baths must be agreed upon with the treating neurologist. It also makes sense to prescribe homeopathic medicines to your child.
Muscle tone study It is carried out under conditions of complete muscle relaxation, preferably in a horizontal position of the subject, laid on a hard couch. The tone of the back muscles is determined with the patient lying on his stomach.
To assess muscle tone a method is used to determine the transverse hardness (resistance) of the muscle and the depth of immersion (pressing) of the doctor’s fingers into the muscle. The method is indicative, does not have clear criteria and is tested empirically on a healthy person.
At research transverse muscle hardness doctor large and index fingers grabs a relaxed muscle and gently squeezes it, assessing the resistance to compression and the depth of immersion of the fingers. In places where the muscle cannot be grasped, the muscle is pressed against the bone with a finger, and both the resistance and the depth of the finger's insertion into the muscle are also assessed.
In a healthy person engaged in moderate physical labor, the muscles are normotonic. Muscles with high resistance are defined as hypertonic; they are dense and tense. Muscles with low resistance are assessed as hypotonic; they feel flabby and sluggish to the touch. Muscles that have lost resistance are atonic. Deviation from normal tone can be generalized and local.
Another method research muscle tone has the goal of determining contractile tone (tonic resistance), that is, assessing the reflex tension of a muscle caused by its stretching during passive movements in the limbs, torso, and neck.
At study of contractile tone the doctor takes the distal part of the limb, which is in conditions of complete relaxation, and performs passive flexion and extension, while assessing the resistance of the flexor and extensor muscles functionally associated with this joint. The degree of tonic muscle resistance is also estimated approximately on the basis of clinical experience and skill, as well as comparison of muscle tone in symmetrical parts of the limbs. A decrease or loss of muscle tone occurs due to a violation of the integrity of the reflex arc when a peripheral motor neuron is damaged.
Muscular hypotonia leads to an increase in the volume of passive movements in the joints, a decrease in muscle resistance, and stretching. With muscle atony, these signs are sharply expressed until the joint becomes completely loose. Generalized muscle hypotonia is observed with progressive atrophic lesions muscular system- starvation, dehydration, severe debilitating diseases, generalized form of myopathy, myasthenia gravis. Limited muscle hypotonia (atony) is more often detected on the limbs, in the muscles of the shoulder and pelvic girdle. The causes may be diseases of the central and peripheral nervous system, as well as long-term dysfunction of the joint.
Increased muscle tone observed in cases of damage to the pyramidal and extrapyramidal systems. Muscle hypertonicity is one of the leading symptoms of central paralysis.
All people have muscle tone - this is muscle tension that is necessary to support the body and ensure its movements. Impaired muscle tone is evidence of trouble in the body and a sign of many diseases, and not only the nervous system.
How do you know if your child has muscle tone?
Whether the child has muscle tone is assessed by specialists - pediatrician, neurologist, orthopedist. When examining the baby, the doctor pays attention to active and passive muscle tone. About active tone he judges by observing how and in what position the baby lies on the changing table or with his stomach in the palm of his hand and what movements he makes, what motor skills he has acquired by his age. Passive tone The doctor checks the child by sequentially bending and unbending the baby’s arms and legs, feeling them, assessing and comparing the resistance that the muscles provide.
In the first year of the baby’s life, the pediatrician evaluates the child’s tone monthly during preventive examinations; a neurologist and orthopedist do this at 1, 3, 6 and 12 months, and more often if there are disorders. However, by observing the movements and development of her baby, the mother herself can judge the state of his muscle tone.
How to determine normal muscle tone?
Before birth the baby is in a limited space of the uterus, its arms and legs are pressed compactly to the body, the head is tilted forward (this is the so-called “fetal position”), and the baby has almost no opportunity to actively move. All his muscles are in a state of tension. Therefore, most of the muscles of a newborn are in a state of physiological hypertonicity at birth. This is the norm.
Normal posture of a healthy person newborn baby– lying on your back, legs bent at the knees, slightly apart and pressed to the tummy, arms bent at the elbows, pressed to the chest, fingers clenched into fists, head slightly thrown back, the position of the right and left sides is symmetrical.
- The baby can actively move his legs, bend and unbend them, push them off from the adult’s hand or cross them. The range of movements of his arms is smaller: he mainly moves them at chest level, bending his elbows and wrists; the baby rarely unclenches his fists.
- If you take the baby by the wrists and carefully pull him towards you, trying to sit him up, his arms will straighten out a little. elbow joints, and then he will reach for them with his whole body.
- When trying to move the bent knees and hip joints on the legs of a newborn, the angle of extension does not exceed 90° (45° on each side), and resistance to this movement is felt due to the physiological increase in tone in these muscles. When you try to separate them again, the resistance decreases normally. The clenched fists of a newborn can also be unclenched.
- In the position on the stomach, the baby will turn its head to the side, placing its arms under the chest and bending its legs, as if making crawling movements. By the end of the month, the baby tries to raise and hold his head for a few seconds.
- If you hold the baby with your palm face down in the abdomen, then his head hangs, at times the newborn tries to lift it; arms and legs are in a bent position. If you take the baby vertically under the arms, then his legs make alternating movements of flexion and extension, but more often they are bent. Placed on a support, the baby straightens up and stands on legs bent at all joints, resting on his full foot. By 1.5 months, this support reflex normally disappears.
The baby is growing– muscle tone also changes: what was considered normal for a newborn may be a sign of disorders at an older age. Ideally, the muscle tone of a child aged 1.5–2 years should be approximately the same as that of an adult. But the uneven course of pregnancy and childbirth, stress, and poor ecology can quite often provoke tone disturbances in the child.
There are several most common disorders: decreased muscle tone in a child is called muscle hypotonia, or hypotonia; increase – muscle hypertension, or hypertonicity; improper distribution of tension and relaxation of muscle groups - muscular dystonia. Let's talk about them in more detail.
Muscle hypertonicity in a child
A baby who has increased tone since birth is overly tense and tense. Often parents note causeless restlessness and crying in the baby, poor sleep, and trembling of the chin. Such a child does not relax even in his sleep, his arms are bent and pressed tightly to his chest, his legs are pulled up to his stomach, his fists are tightly clenched, and he has to make an effort to unclench them. There is pronounced resistance during flexion and extension of the arms and legs. When examining the support reflex, the baby does not stand on his full foot, but on tiptoes, tucks his toes, the reflex persists for longer than 1.5 months. When pulling his arms, he does not straighten his arms at all, completely lifting his whole body behind them. In the stomach-on-palm position, face down, the child keeps his head in line with his body. Such children can hold their head in an upright position almost from birth.
Increased tone can be symmetrical (in all muscle groups, only in the arms or legs) or asymmetrical - on one side of the body. With prolonged increased tone of the flexor muscles, the baby maintains the flexion “fetal position.” An extreme expression of increased tone of the extensor muscles is the pathological posture of opisthotonus in some diseases, when the head is thrown back, the back is arched, the legs and arms are straightened and tense, the fingers are clenched into fists, the legs are crossed in the lower third of the legs, flexion and extension in all joints is difficult .
Why is hypertension dangerous in children?
The danger of hypertonicity in a child lies in a decrease in the rate of motor development of the baby. If treatment is not started in a timely manner, then such a child will later sit up, crawl, walk, get tired quickly when moving, and have difficulty redistributing the center of gravity while walking. Violated and general condition: due to excessive muscle tension, such children are overly excited, sleep poorly, and often burp. At older ages it is disrupted fine motor skills brushes.
Muscular hypotonia in a child
The opposite situation, when the tone is less than normal, is called muscle hypotonia. In this case, the baby’s arms and legs are extended, the arms lie along the body. This is a common occurrence for a premature baby and is associated with immaturity of the nervous system. A pronounced manifestation of muscle hypotonia is the so-called “frog pose”, when in the supine position the baby’s arms lie sluggishly along the body, the fingers are not clenched into a fist, the legs are widely spread at the hips and slightly bent at the hips. knee joints, stomach is spread out. These children often have reduced reflexes. When bending the joints, no resistance is felt, the range of movement in them is increased, the joints seem to “dangle”, the handle raised up and released falls. The child's legs can be spread at the hip joints almost 180° without any effort.
With hypotonia, the child has poor or no support on his feet when he is supported under the arms. When you pull the handles towards you, they fully straighten and your head leans back. When a newborn lies on his stomach in the palm of an adult, the baby's head and limbs hang down. When laid out on his tummy, he does not bend his arms and sticks his face into the surface, looking limp.
Typically, such babies are overly calm, rarely cry, suck poorly, gain weight worse, and move little.
Why is hypotension dangerous in a child?
Hypotonia in a child is dangerous because such children later begin to hold their heads, take objects in their hands, sit down, walk, but due to insufficient muscle strength. In an upright position, they do not maintain their posture, because of this, the work of the internal organs is tense. Lack of movement slows down the growth of the child’s bones and muscles; physically the baby looks younger than his age; in the future, the formation of scoliosis, kyphosis and other skeletal deformities and gait disturbances is possible.
Muscular dystonia in a child
Most often, a mixed tone disorder occurs, when in some muscle groups it is increased, and in others it is decreased, or during testing it goes from a state of hypotonicity to hypertonicity. This is called muscular dystonia. Signs of muscular dystonia may include, for example: incorrect positions hands - straightened and widely spaced fingers, sometimes the hand is turned inward. Another type of muscular dystonia is asymmetry of muscle tone. Moreover, on one side of the body it may be higher than on the other. Sometimes the body can be bent in an arc and the head is often turned to one side. In this case, the baby begins to roll over only in one direction, clearly preferring it to the other, crawl, pulling up one leg, etc.
Why is muscular dystonia dangerous?
The danger of muscular dystonia is that during development, such children may experience a delay in the formation of motor skills: they begin to roll over from their back to their stomach only after 5–6 months, sit up after 7 months, and begin to walk after 12 months. Severe dystonia can lead to body asymmetry and gait disturbances.
Examination methods
Identified tone disorders are observed over time and compared with other signs of child developmental disorders. Based on this, a specialist can determine whether this is a pathology or an individual characteristic of the baby. If a mother has doubts about the child’s tone, she should definitely consult a pediatrician and neurologist.
For a more accurate diagnosis of the cause of the disorders, additional research methods may be required, for example, neurosonography, electroencephalography, electroneurography, etc.
The study of the chromosome set and a special blood protein, alpha-fetoprotein, allows us to exclude chromosomal diseases, and a blood test for intrauterine infections (herpes, cytomegalovirus, etc.) allows us to exclude infectious diseases of the brain.
Let's start treating muscle tone
The sooner tone disorders are identified in a child and treatment is started, the better, because the restorative ability of the cells of the nervous system is in early age very high.
There is no need to engage in self-medication or treatment on the advice of parents of other children, since the degree of impairment in each individual child is different, and the prescribed therapy depends on this. The treatment complex should only be prescribed by a specialist. For tone disorders, movement treatment is used - massage, gymnastics, swimming; physiotherapy - ultrasound, electrophoresis, magnetic therapy, heat and hydrotherapy, etc. If necessary, medications are used.
Toning massage by influencing the nerve endings in the skin changes nervous excitability - increases or decreases it depending on the effect, and also revitalizes reflexes, improves the conduction of nerve impulses along the nerves.
Toning massage can be done in a clinic or at home, after teaching parents its basic techniques. The procedure should bring only positive emotions to the baby. After all, if he cries or experiences pain, this can further increase his tone.
In the first month of life, therapeutic massage is not prescribed - the baby will only need light stroking movements of his mother’s hands. To prevent muscle tone disorders, you should change the position of the child’s body more often, make multidirectional movements with him, and pick him up more often: this stimulates the development of motor skills.
Toning massage should be carried out in a comfortable environment for the baby, talking to him tenderly. For hypertonicity, a relaxing massage is given, which includes stroking from the periphery to the center, grasping stroking of the limbs, and light rubbing. Chopping and clapping movements are unacceptable: they will increase muscle tension.
After the massage, do it carefully and gently special exercises aimed at stretching tense muscles. The effect will be better if you perform such a massage before an evening swim: warm water will additionally relax tense muscles, enhancing the effect of the massage.
Babies who have hypotension are given a stimulating massage to activate muscle function. In this case, chopping, clapping movements, and rolling with the knuckles are justified - they tone the muscles.
For dystonia, an experienced massage therapist knows which muscle groups need to be relaxed and which, on the contrary, stimulated, so parents are not recommended to do this massage themselves: incorrect actions can harm the baby.
Gymnastics and swimming strengthen reflexes that support correct posture, equalize muscle tone (increase low tone and vice versa), develop muscles, and have a powerful general strengthening effect. Exercises on gymnastic ball(fitball), and you can swim either in a large bathtub at home (after training with an instructor) or in a swimming pool for infants, which are often located at children's clinics.
Physiotherapy using physical factors improves neuromuscular conduction, depending on the type of effect, tones or calms the nervous system, respectively increasing or decreasing muscle tone.
Reasons for violations
Violation of muscle tone is not an independent disease, but only a separate sign, a symptom of trouble. Most often, the cause of the disorders is hypoxia - a lack of oxygen and impaired blood supply to the child’s brain before or after birth. Hypoxia often occurs with gestosis, circulatory disorders in the placenta, smoking, drinking alcohol, as well as stress, a long anhydrous period, etc. Brain hypoxia is a common, but not the only cause of tone disturbance. It also increases with infections, injuries, vascular diseases brain, children's cerebral palsy and some other problems.
Muscle tone is the involuntary tension of our muscles. This process is ongoing. Our consciousness and will do not control it.
Have you ever wondered how muscles tense? What controls them? If muscle tone is in normal condition, then we do not notice it. This is our usual state, which does not cause any discomfort. Despite the fact that we do not attach importance to this, the tone exists.
This important characteristic our muscular system. It affects the condition of all organs and systems. Without it, we will not be able to move, walk, or even stand normally.
An important function of the skeletal muscles is to maintain their working condition. They must be in full readiness at all times, regardless of whether we are sleeping or awake. And reflexively, the tone of the muscular system helps us maintain a certain position of our body.
What is normal and what is deviation?
What is the difference between tonic muscle tension and ordinary tension? If the tension is voluntary, then a number of muscle fibers are activated simultaneously.
Imagine that each fiber is a light bulb that lights up. During voluntary tension, the entire muscle will look like a bright fiery beam. But in the case of tonic tension, it will already resemble a sky strewn with stars. Do you notice the difference?
In the second case, the fibers will not start working all at once, but one by one: some are tense, while others are resting. Thanks to this efficiency, the fibers can last a very long time. When distributing tonic tension, the sensitivity of muscles and joints plays a decisive role.
Studies have shown that muscle tone can vary greatly between different people. Even for one person, this indicator will change at different points in his life. For example, when we sleep, our tone is reduced. During mental or physical work it will increase, and during rest and rest it will decrease again. With reduced tone, performance is lost, but high tone will interfere with productive work.
It is interesting that muscle tone can affect a person’s state of mind. As it turns out, when our tone changes, our emotions also undergo changes. Reducing it can calm a person and even put him to sleep. But mentally controlling this indicator is quite difficult.
Hypertonicity - about causes and consequences
If the muscles are in pathologically high tone, this may be signaled by the following signs:
- their density has increased;
- does not leave the feeling of tension;
- you feel tightness;
- movements are constrained;
- you feel muscle fatigue;
- the rate of muscle growth has slowed down;
- appear frequently muscle spasms with acute pain.
There are two types of hypertonicity:
- . On different groups muscle tone is impaired in different ways.
- Muscle rigidity. The tone is equally high in all muscle groups.
Why does hypertension appear?
Most often, this pathology is associated with disruption of the nervous system. It is from it that signals come, after which the muscles relax or tense. It is she who controls their tone. Increased muscle tone can appear for various reasons:
- cardiovascular diseases (they damage the central nervous system);
- congenital neurological pathology;
- the brain or spinal cord was damaged due to injury;
- the person has demyelinating diseases.
And the tone may also depend on the psychological state. Our central nervous system often perceives various kinds of shocks and stress as a potential threat, and activates muscle tone. They slightly affect the tone and weather conditions. In warm weather, the muscles are relaxed, and the cold provokes their tension.
Types of muscle tone disorders
Muscle tone disorders:
Muscle tone is observed in most newborns. At first, this is normal. It is due to the fact that after the fetal position the baby must get used to the new body position. Do not be alarmed if your baby is diagnosed with muscular dystonia.
Tone is an important characteristic of the state of the child’s nervous system and his general condition. Disturbances can be a symptom of serious pathologies of the central nervous system, spinal cord and brain. For example, dystonia always accompanies increased intracranial pressure.
Violations of tone can provoke delays in physical and mental development. Such babies later begin to crawl, sit, and walk.
Therefore, it is worth showing the baby to a neurologist. A special risk group are babies born ahead of schedule, “Caesareans”, low weight babies.
The consequences of tone disorders for children can be different:
- Posture and gait may deteriorate, and sometimes clubfoot appears;
- hypertonicity can later turn into hyperexcitability, the child will be inattentive, does not study well, and will begin to show aggression;
- hypotonia leads to physical and psychological lethargy, apathy, physical inactivity, obesity, and developmental delays.
It is important that parents monitor the child's condition. For the first months, it is normal for the baby to remain in the fetal position. The newborn may experience increased muscle tension. Physiological tone is normal for them. That's why you shouldn't leave even a newborn on the changing table unattended. He can actively move his legs, arms and even roll over.
Parents should be wary if:
- the newborn's hips are separated by more than 90 degrees, this is a symptom;
- when spreading your child’s hips, you feel excessive resistance, this is a symptom of hypertonicity;
- a symptom of a tone disorder is an unnatural posture of the child in the crib. With pathology, it can shrink into a lump or, conversely, spread out like a frog;
- the child eats poorly, cries for no reason, throwing his head back;
- convulsions and fever are observed;
- The baby doesn't gurgle or smile.
You can’t swaddle your baby tightly, even at night. With such swaddling, the baby is in a very unnatural position. Doctors have noticed that babies who are not swaddled tightly are less likely to have tone disorders and neurological problems.
If correction of tone is still required, then therapeutic massage is most often prescribed. It is prescribed to babies after one and a half months 
age.
Drug therapy is used infrequently. Specific treatment will depend on the causes. Don't be afraid of a massage.
The main thing is that it should be performed by an experienced and qualified children's massage therapist. A good professional massage normalizes muscle tone, improves blood circulation, and stabilizes the functioning of the nervous system.
It is useful to do simple exercises for your child:
- Stroke his back and arms. The lumbar region should not be touched.
- Massage your palms, heels, toes and arms. Movements should not be strong or abrupt.
- After three months The baby can do more complex exercises. They can be selected by a physical therapy specialist.
To correct muscle tone, baths with herbs (soothing tea, motherwort, chamomile) and sea salt will be useful.
Diagnostic tests
Special diagnostic tests will help determine the state of tone. The first examination of the baby is carried out in the maternity hospital. Then parents should show the baby to an orthopedist or neurologist every six months. Parents themselves can perform some manipulations for such diagnostics:
- Spreading the hips. The baby is lying on his back. You push his thighs apart without any effort. The norm is moderate resistance. When the tone is low, it is completely absent, and when it is high, it is too strong. A healthy baby should spread his legs 45 degrees on each side.
- We sit the baby by the arms. The baby lies on his back. Pull the baby's wrists as if you want to sit him down. The norm is slight resistance to extension of the elbows. If the tone is low, there will be no resistance; if the tone is high, it will be excessive.
- Step reflex and support reflex. Holding it under the armpits, place the baby on the changing table. When encouraging you to take a step, slightly tilt it forward. Normal - the child stands and rests on his entire foot, his toes are straightened. When bending forward, the baby should not cross his legs; he imitates the process of walking. But after 1.5 months this reflex fades away. But with hypertension it lasts longer. Symptoms of hypertonicity: curled fingers, crossed legs. Symptoms muscle hypotonia in infants: steps on excessively bent legs (you must hold the baby under your arms), squatting or refusing to walk.
Therapy methods
As already mentioned, in case of tone disorders, professional therapeutic massage is often prescribed, and less often, drug therapy. Most often, a neurologist prescribes a course of relaxing massage (10 professional sessions, which are repeated again after six months).
Also applies:
- special therapeutic exercises;
- electrophoresis;
- swimming;
- relaxing baths with herbs (sage, valerian, motherwort, chamomile, soothing tea, pine needles) or sea salt;
- in more complex cases, medications are prescribed (vascular drugs, nootropics, diuretics).
Important: pediatricians have recently agreed that jumpers and walkers can harm the child’s muscular system and the entire musculoskeletal system. In them, the force of gravity is distributed unevenly. This leads to excessive stress on the spine and pelvis, muscle tension, and the child gets used to not fully standing on his foot.
Remember that as you reach middle age, muscle tone may decline. It wouldn’t be superfluous to do therapeutic exercises or moderate loads V gym. Remember that the general condition of your body, performance and emotional state directly depends on muscle tone!
The human body is a complex system consisting of functional subsystems. The skeletal system supports the body's weight through bones and ligaments within the range of motion of the joints. The muscular system creates the transmission of forces while supporting body weight. Muscles work in cooperation with each other. And any disruption of muscle function leads to disruption of the functioning of the body as a whole.
Muscles are toned
Muscle tone is the residual tension of the muscles during their relaxation. Muscle tone is not accompanied by fatigue. This is very important indicator, which allows you to judge the degree of muscle damage. The nature of this condition has not yet been established, but experts are of the opinion that muscle tension at rest can change under the influence of external factors or diseases of the nervous system. Violation of muscle tone is one of the manifestations of various diseases of the nervous system.
Pathology of the muscular system
Hypertonicity muscle is big problem in neuroscience. It is accompanied by pain and restrictions in movement. The main signs of increased muscle tone are:
- voltage
- inactivity
- discomfort when moving
- muscle stiffness
- muscle spasms
- spontaneous motor activity
- increased tendon reflexes
- delayed relaxation of spasming muscles
Very often, hypertonicity is accompanied by pain in the back and legs, especially during movement.
What leads to increased tone muscles? The most common causes of hypertension are:
- diseases of the central nervous system (CNS)
— multiple sclerosis
- spinal cord or brain injuries
- stroke
Muscle tone is susceptible to mental and emotional states, temperature changes, but to the least extent.
Hypertonicity is usually treated with a combination of physiotherapy and muscle relaxants.
Decreased muscle tone
Muscle hypotonia, on the contrary, is a state of decreased muscle tone, often combined with a decrease in muscle strength. It is not difficult to recognize this lesion; it is difficult, and sometimes impossible, to identify the cause of this condition. Diagnosis of muscle hypotonicity usually occurs in childhood.
The course of decreased muscle tone has pronounced symptoms:
- severe muscle weakness develops
- the atonic state of the skeletal muscles gradually develops
- any movements of the limbs and body are reduced or completely absent
- decreased or absent unconditioned reflexes
- breathing becomes difficult
- the person becomes unable to sit in the usual sitting positions
- joints of the upper and lower limbs become looser and may begin to warp
The most common causes of hypotension are genetic diseases such as Down syndrome, Aicardi syndrome, Robinov syndrome, Patau syndrome, Williams syndrome, etc.
In addition, the diseases that a person has suffered throughout his life also play an important role. These include:
- development of dystrophy various groups muscles
- atrophy of the spinal muscles
- past encephalitis, meningitis
- polio
- sepsis
- myasthenia gravis
- hiatal hernia
Muscular hypotonia is usually a consequence of the disease. That is why drug therapy is aimed at eliminating the disease that has led to disruption of the body’s muscular system. The main goal of treating muscle hypotonicity is to gradually reduce and eliminate the symptoms that appear: muscle weakness, difficulty breathing, inability to perform certain actions and movements.
It is very important that the course of treatment for each patient is strictly individual. And making independent changes to the prescribed treatment is not acceptable.
Massage and exercise for muscle tone
There are several simple exercises which will help relieve muscle and ligament tension and help the body relax:
- bending to the side
- body flexion
- hamstring stretch
In addition to basic exercises, self-massage can help with muscle tone problems. The patient should take a comfortable position and rub the neck with the pads of the fingers. Then stroked back surface neck. In this case, the palms are pressed quite tightly to the neck. The muscles of the shoulder girdle are warmed up with pinches. At the end of the massage, the neck is tapped with the fingertips and slow circular strokes are performed.
Muscle tone disorders in children
In children under one year of age, muscle tone disorders are not uncommon. After all, a child who has lived in his mother’s tummy for 9 months in the fetal position tends to have muscle tension. This can be caused by both congenital pathologies and factors surrounding the child. It is important to identify the problem and its cause in time in order to prescribe timely and effective treatment to avoid consequences such as deformation of the joints and skeleton, and movement disorders.
In a child of the first year of life, hypertonicity causes stiffness and constriction of movements. The baby cannot relax even during sleep. Hence the accompanying problems - anxiety, sleep disturbance, trembling chin.
The causes of this disorder may be birth trauma or birth hypoxia.
Hypotonicity in children under one year of age is less common in its manifestation than hypertonicity. Most often, such disorders affect babies born prematurely, as well as children with infectious diseases and endocrine system disorders. Such a violation usually manifests itself in rare whims. Such children rarely cry.
The cause of decreased muscle tone may be a serious birth injury, for example, an intracranial hematoma. As a result, the child begins to lag behind in psychomotor development, begins to hold his head up late, and does not gain weight well. And most importantly, such a violation can lead to breathing problems.
Complex therapy prescribed by specialists for muscle tone disorders includes:
– physiotherapy – mud therapy, electrophoresis
- course massage to relax “tired” muscles
