What is tone, many know. But only some parents are interested in the pediatrician whether the muscle tone of the newborn is in order. There are deviations from the norm both in the direction of relaxation and in the direction of muscle overstrain.
The baby begins to move, being in the tummy. The joints and muscles of the formed fetus are designed so that it can roll over, push and feel in space due to flexion and extension of the limbs.
Barely born, the child tries to repeat the movements carried out by him in the womb. Naturally, outside the amniotic fluid, this is not so easy for him. Therefore, the movements of newborns are always impetuous, they lack smoothness and coordination. But the tone in newborns must be present. 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 a dream. This is called tone.
In inactivity, the muscles work (tension) differently. Their intensity depends on the task being performed and the load. Besides than younger child, the more it depends on the tone. Many mothers note that the newborn constantly tightens the arms and legs - this is normal. Thus, 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 against 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 pronounced in the position of the legs - they are constantly separated to the sides and half-bent. When you try to unbend them, the muscles show tangible resistance. Usually, by the age of six months, hypertonicity disappears. And by 1.5–2 years, the tone of the child becomes the same as that of an adult,
A deviation from the norm is muscle relaxation (hypotension), 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.
Varieties of pathology of muscle tone
Regular examinations by a pediatrician will allow timely detection of symptoms of tone in newborns and take appropriate measures. The diagnosis must be confirmed by a neuropathologist, but parents can notice the first signs of abnormalities on their own.
1. Most common increased tone muscles in newborns. Such a pathology is expressed in the constant anxiety of the child, frequent causeless crying, lack or disturbance of sleep. In addition, babies with hypertonicity are extremely excitable, they wake up from every rustle, they can cry in bright light. During the cry, these children often tremble chin. They also do not eat well, and after feeding they regurgitate almost all the sucked milk.
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 the body. If you try to straighten the arm or leg, you can meet serious muscle resistance. In addition, with such manipulations, the child often begins to cry. And if you repeat the limb extension procedure, muscle resistance will increase each time. This is the most striking sign of hypertonicity.
If hypertonicity is not cured in time, it will be noticeable in adulthood. For example, people with increased muscle tone often walk as if on tiptoe, leaning on their toes, which is why they wear out their shoes in front.
Newborns with hypertonicity do not just hold their heads well from the first days of life. However, they may suffer from a curvature of the neck muscles. This happens if there was an injury during childbirth cervical spine.
The pathogenesis of tone in newborns may have both physiological and viral nature. For example, if during pregnancy or childbirth the cerebral cortex of a child was damaged, resulting in an increase in intracranial pressure, then from the first days of life, the infant may experience perinatal encephalopathy. It is this pathology that can provoke hypertonicity.
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 age of the child. That is, up to six months such a picture is the norm, and at 7–8 months it is a pathology.
2. Much more to worry about parents weak muscle tone in newborns, called hypotension. Nevertheless, it is this condition that arouses suspicion least of all, but in vain. Outward calmness and problem-free behavior of a child can be a pathology.
Children with hypotension, at first glance, seem like a gift from heaven - they rarely cry, sleep all night long, and even during the day they do not cause much trouble, obediently allowing them to carry out any manipulations - wash, feed, dress. It’s just that they wake up on their own with difficulty, suckle their breasts poorly, often fall asleep during feedings, and do not gain weight.
Hypotension in and of itself is not a disease. This is a symptom indicating some kind of deviation:
- neurological (perinatal encephalopathy);
- neuromuscular (spinal amyotrophy);
- chromosomal (Down's syndrome).
Also, reduced muscle tone, especially if it did not appear immediately, may indicate diabetes, polio, rickets and other diseases.
Still, don't panic. It is possible that parents took it for signs of hypotension, it 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 the relatives.
3. Dystonia is called asymmetrical or uneven tone muscles in newborns. With such a deviation, the baby has signs of both hypertonicity and hypotonicity.
The easiest way to identify muscle dystonia is by laying the baby on the tummy. With an asymmetric tone, the baby will roll over to the side where hypertonicity is observed. At the same time, his body will be bent by an arc from the neck to the foot.
When positioned on the back, a child with muscular dystonia will constantly twist the head and pelvis to one side. In addition, limbs with increased tone will be tucked in, and those with reduced tone will be relaxed. Dystonia, covering all muscle groups, is called generalized. In addition, focal dystonia is distinguished, which develops in any one part of the body, for example, the limbs.
In addition, muscular dystonia is primary and secondary. The first develops against the background of chromosomal abnormalities or by itself, without affecting other organs.
The second - against the background of a genetic disease - Wilson-Konovalov syndrome, associated with impaired copper metabolism. In this case, dystonia is just the tip of the iceberg that hides serious pathologies in the development of the central 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 worried about something in the behavior or condition of the child, seek the advice of a doctor. If there are clear signs of increased, decreased, or uneven muscle tone, insist on a full examination. It is better to be safe than to miss the moment when the symptoms begin to progress. Moreover, the treatment muscle tone quite affordable and almost painless for the child, if carried out on time.
The main therapy for any type of tone is massage and exercise . But you can conduct sessions only 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 shown, which is carried out in a course of 10 procedures. After a full course, you need to make a six-month interval, and then repeat the sessions.
Massage with increased muscle tone should be accompanied by various manipulations: electrophoresis, swimming, therapeutic gymnastics . The faster the therapy is carried out, the less likely it is that hypertonicity will leave consequences for the health of the child.
If the problem is not detected in time, the condition of the baby can become severe. In such cases, various drugs . For example, to relieve spasm and expand blood vessels before a massage, a child is injected with dibazol. In addition, B vitamins (B6, B12), most often prescribed in the form of injections, become an auxiliary treatment.
Relaxing massage done with gentle strokes. Movements are carried out both with an open palm and half-bent fingers. You can also stroke the baby's limbs by palmar grip. All movements are upward.
First you need to gently rub the baby's body in a circular motion by gently moving his skin from bottom to top. At the end, you need to quickly but gently shake the baby's arms and legs, gently spreading them to the side. Relaxing massage eliminates patting and chopping movements with the edge of the palm.
Weak muscle tone in newborns is also treated with massage, but the movements have a different character. Muscles need to be kneaded to activate their tone and stimulate growth. Such therapy necessarily involves chopping movements and patting. Almost all massage with hypotension is built on them.
Movements should be ascending, sufficiently intense, going from the periphery to the center. But still it is worth remembering that in front of you is a baby and calculate your strength.
With dystonia muscles will have to combine two types of massage - relaxing and stimulating. Naturally, soft strokes should be carried out on the side where there are signs of hypertonicity, and pats on the one where there are symptoms of hypotonicity.
In addition to massage, it is worth doing exercises with a baby on an inflatable ball - fitball . It is easier for parents to do them together - dad, for example, will press the baby's legs with feet folded to each other to the surface of the ball, and at the same time mom will gently pull the child by the handles.
It must be remembered that parents cannot independently diagnose and prescribe treatment. Only a neuropathologist is able to identify foci 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 deviations in muscle tone can constantly change. Therefore, you need to regularly show the child to the doctor and monitor his condition not only during the period of treatment, but also after it.
Many tips for treating tone in newborns belong to the legendary healer Vanga. Some of them are recognized as official medicine. But it is up to parents to decide whether to apply them in 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, sage. After such baths, a relaxing massage will be more effective. The concentration and frequency of baths must be agreed with the attending neurologist. It also makes sense to prescribe homeopathic medicines to the child.
Muscle tone study is carried out in conditions of complete relaxation of the muscles, preferably in a horizontal position of the subject, laid on a hard couch. The tone of the back muscles is determined in the position of the patient on the stomach.
To assess muscle tone a method is used to determine the transverse hardness (resistance) of the muscle and the depth of immersion (indentation) of the doctor's fingers into the muscle. The method is indicative, does not have clear criteria and is practiced empirically on a healthy person.
At research transverse muscle hardness physician large and index fingers grabs the relaxed muscle and gently squeezes it, assessing the resistance to compression and the depth of immersion of the fingers. In places where the capture of the muscle is impossible, the muscle is pressed against the bone with a finger, while both resistance and the depth of immersion of the finger into the muscle are also evaluated.
In a healthy person engaged in moderate physical labor, the muscles are normotonic. Muscles with high resistance are defined as hypertonic, they are dense, tense. Muscles with low resistance are assessed as hypotonic, they are flabby and lethargic to the touch. Muscles that have lost resistance are atonic. Deviation from normal tone can be generalized and local.
Another method research muscle tone aims to determine the contractile tone (tonic resistance), that is, to assess the reflex tension of the muscle caused by its stretching during passive movements in the limbs, trunk, neck.
At study of contractile tone the doctor takes the distal part of the limb, which is in 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 muscle tonic resistance is also estimated approximately on the basis of clinical experience and skill, as well as a comparison of the muscle tone of the 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 hypotension 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 pronounced up to the complete looseness of the joint. Generalized muscular 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. Causes can 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 the muscle tension that is necessary to maintain 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 a child has muscle tone?
Whether the child has muscle tone is assessed by specialists - a pediatrician, a neurologist, an orthopedist. Examining the baby, the doctor pays attention to the 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 at the same time, what motor skills he has acquired by his age. Passive tone in a child, the doctor checks by successively bending and unbending the arms and legs of the baby, feeling them, evaluating and comparing the resistance exerted by the muscles.
In the first year of a baby's life, a pediatrician evaluates the child's tone every month during preventive examinations, a neurologist and an orthopedist do this at 1, 3, 6 and 12 months, and more often if there are violations. However, watching the movements and development of her crumbs, 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, his arms and legs are compactly pressed to the body, the head is tilted forward (this is the so-called “fetal position”), and the crumbs have almost no opportunity to actively move. All his muscles are in a state of tension. Therefore, most of the muscles of the newborn by birth are in a state of physiological hypertonicity. This is the norm.
normal healthy posture 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, the head is slightly thrown back, the position of the right and left sides is symmetrical.
- The kid can actively move the legs, bend and unbend them, push them off the hand of an adult or cross them. The volume of movements of the handles is less: basically, he moves them at chest level, bending at the elbows and wrists, the baby rarely opens his fists.
- If you take the baby by the wrists and gently pull it towards you, trying to plant it, its arms will unbend a little in elbow joints, and then he will reach for them with his whole body.
- When trying to spread to the sides bent at the knees and hip joints legs of a newborn, the dilution angle does not exceed 90 ° (45 ° on each side), and resistance to this movement is felt due to a physiological increase in tone in these muscles. When you try again to breed them normally, the resistance decreases. The clenched fists of a newborn can also be unclenched.
- In the position on the stomach, the baby will turn the head to the side, placing the arms under the chest and bending the 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 child with your palm in the abdomen, face down, then his head hangs down, at times the newborn tries to raise it; arms and legs are in a bent position. If you take the baby vertically under the armpits, then his legs make alternating movements of flexion and extension, but more often they are bent. Put on a support, the baby straightens up and stands on legs half-bent in all joints, leaning on a full foot. By 1.5 months, this support reflex normally disappears.
The kid is growing- muscle tone also changes: what was considered the norm for a newborn, at an older age may be a sign of disorders. Ideally, muscle tone in a child aged 1.5–2 years should be approximately the same as in an adult. But the uneven course of pregnancy and childbirth, stress, poor ecology can quite often provoke violations of the child's tone.
There are some of the most common disorders: a decrease in muscle tone in a child is called muscle hypotension, 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
The baby, who has an increased tone from birth, is overly tense and pinched. Often, parents note in the baby causeless anxiety and crying, poor sleep, chin trembling. Such a child does not relax even in a dream, his arms are bent and tightly pressed to his chest, his legs are pulled up to his stomach, his fists are tightly clenched, you have to make an effort to unclench them. There is marked resistance during flexion-extension of the arms and legs. When examining the support reflex, the baby does not stand on his full foot, but on tiptoe, presses his fingers, the reflex lasts longer than 1.5 months. When sipping his arms, he does not unbend his arms at all, completely rising behind them with his whole body. In the position of the stomach on the palm face down, the child keeps the head in line with the body. Such children can hold their head upright almost from birth.
Increased tone can be symmetrical (in all muscle groups, only in the arms or legs) or asymmetrically - on one side of the body. With a prolonged increased tone of the flexor muscles, the baby maintains the flexion "fetal position". The extreme expression of the increased tone of the extensor muscles is the pathological posture of opisthotonus in certain diseases, when the head is thrown back, the back is arched, the legs and arms are extended 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 is to reduce the pace of motor development of the baby. If treatment is not started in a timely manner, then such a child will later sit down, crawl, walk, when moving, he will quickly get tired, and while walking, it will be difficult to redistribute the center of gravity. Is violated and general state: due to excessive muscle tension, such children are overly excited, sleep poorly, often spit up. At an older age, it is broken fine motor skills brushes.
Muscular hypotension in a child
The reverse situation, when the tone is less than normal, is called muscle hypotension. At the same time, the arms and legs of the baby are unbent, the arms lie along the body. This is a common occurrence for a premature baby, it is associated with the immaturity of the nervous system. A pronounced manifestation of muscle hypotension is the so-called “frog pose”, when in the position on the back the baby’s arms lie sluggishly along the body, the fingers are not clenched into a fist, the legs are widely separated at the hips and slightly bent at the hips. knee joints, belly flattened. These children often have reduced reflexes. When bending the joints, there is no resistance, the amount of movement in them is increased, the joints seem to “dangle”, the handle raised up and released falls. The child's legs can be parted at the hip joints by almost 180 ° without any effort.
With hypotonicity, the child does not lean well or does not rest on the feet at all when he is supported under the armpits. When sipping on the handles, they are completely straightened, the head leans back. When a newborn lies on his stomach in the palm of an adult, the head and limbs of the baby hang down. When laid out on his tummy, he does not bend his arms and sticks his face into the surface, looks limp.
Typically, such babies are excessively calm, rarely cry, suck poorly, gain weight worse, and move little.
What is dangerous hypotension in a child?
Hypotension in a child is dangerous because such children later begin to hold their heads, take objects in their hands, sit down, walk, but already due to insufficient muscle strength. In an upright position, they do not maintain a pose, because of this, the work of the internal organs is tense. The lack of movement slows down the growth of the bones and muscles of the child, physically the baby looks younger than his age, in the future, the formation of scoliosis, kyphosis and other skeletal deformities, gait disorders is possible.
Muscular dystonia in a child
Most often, a mixed violation of tone occurs, when in some muscle groups it is increased, while in others it is reduced, or during a test it passes from a state of hypotonicity into hypertonicity. This is called muscular dystonia. Signs of muscular dystonia can be, for example, incorrect positions of the hands - straightened and widely spaced fingers, sometimes the hand is turned inward. Another type of muscular dystonia is the asymmetry of muscle tone. At the same time, it may be higher on one side of the body than on the other. Sometimes at the same time the body can be curved in an arc and the head is more often turned to one side. In this case, the baby begins to roll over only in one direction, clearly preferring it to the other, crawling, pulling up one leg, etc.
Why is muscular dystonia dangerous?
The danger of muscular dystonia lies in the fact that in the process of 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 down after 7 months, and begin to walk after 12 months. Severe dystonia can lead to body asymmetry and gait disturbances.
Examination methods
The identified violations of tone are observed in dynamics and compared with other signs of impaired development of the child. Based on this, the specialist can determine whether this is a pathology or an individual feature of the baby. If the mother has doubts about the tone of the child, you should definitely consult a pediatrician and a 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 makes it possible to exclude chromosomal diseases, and a blood test for intrauterine infections (herpes, cytomegalovirus, etc.) - infectious diseases of the brain.
Getting Started with Muscle Toning
The earlier a child's tone disorders are detected and treatment is started, the better, because the restorative ability of the cells of the nervous system in early age very high.
There is no need to self-medicate or treat on the advice of the parents of other children, since the degree of violations in each individual baby is different, and the prescribed therapy depends on this. The complex of treatment should be prescribed only by a specialist. In case of violations of tone, movement treatment is used - massage, gymnastics, swimming; physiotherapy - ultrasound, electrophoresis, magnetotherapy, heat and hydrotherapy, etc. If necessary, medicines are used.
Massage with tone by influencing the nerve endings in the skin changes nervous excitability - it increases or decreases depending on the impact, and also revitalizes reflexes, improves the conduction of nerve impulses along the nerves.
Massage with tone 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 is in pain, this can further increase the tone.
In the first month of life, therapeutic massage is not prescribed - the baby will have enough light stroking movements of his mother's hands. To prevent violations of muscle tone, it is necessary to change the position of the child's body more often, make multidirectional movements with him, more often take him in his arms: this stimulates the development of motor skills.
Massage with tone should be carried out in a comfortable environment for the crumbs, affectionately talking to him. With hypertonicity, a relaxing massage is done, which includes stroking from the periphery to the center, clasping stroking the limbs, and light rubbing. Chopping and flapping movements are unacceptable: they will increase muscle tension.
After the massage, carefully and gently do special exercises aimed at stretching tense muscles. The effect will be better if such a massage is performed before evening bathing: warm water will additionally relax tense muscles, enhancing the effect of the massage.
Babies who have hypotension are given a stimulating massage to activate the muscles. In this case, chopping, clapping movements, rolling with the knuckles are justified - they tone the muscles.
With dystonia, an experienced massage therapist knows which muscle groups need to be relaxed and which, on the contrary, to be stimulated, so parents are not recommended to do such a massage on their own: wrong actions can harm the baby.
Gymnastics and swimming reinforce reflexes that maintain the correct posture, even out muscle tone (increase low and vice versa), develop muscles, and have a powerful tonic effect. Classes have a good effect on gymnastic ball(fitball), and you can swim either in a large bath at home (after training with an instructor), or in a pool for babies, which are often found at children's clinics.
Physiotherapy using physical factors improves neuromuscular conduction, depending on the type of exposure, tones or calms the nervous system, respectively increasing or decreasing muscle tone.
Causes of 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 violations is hypoxia - a lack of oxygen and a violation of the blood supply to the child's brain before or after birth. Hypoxia often occurs with gestosis, circulatory disorders in the placenta, smoking, alcohol consumption, as well as stress, a long anhydrous period, etc. Hypoxia of the brain is a common, but not the only cause of impaired tone. It also increases with infections, injuries, vascular diseases of the brain, children cerebral palsy and some other problems.
Muscle tone is the involuntary tension of our muscles. This process is permanent. Our consciousness and will do not control it.
Have you ever wondered how muscles tense up? What controls them? If the muscle tone is in a normal state, 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 state of all organs and systems. Without it, we will not be able to move normally, walk and even stand.
An important function of the skeletal muscles is to maintain their working condition. They must be in full readiness at any time, whether we are asleep or awake. And reflexively, the tone of the muscular system helps us maintain a certain position of our body.
What is the norm and what is the deviation
What is the difference between tonic muscle tension and normal? If the tension is arbitrary, then a number of muscle fibers are simultaneously activated.
Imagine that each fiber is a light bulb. 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. Notice the difference?
In the second case, the fibers will not all enter into work at once, but in turn: some tense up, while others rest. Thanks to this economy, the fibers can work for a very long time. In the distribution of tonic tension, the sensitivity of muscles and joints plays a decisive role.
Studies have shown that muscle tone can vary greatly from person to person. Even for one person at different points in his life, this indicator will change. For example, when we sleep, the tone is lowered. during mental or physical work it will increase, and during rest and rest it will decrease again. With a reduced tone, efficiency is lost, but a high tone will interfere with productive work.
It is curious that muscle tone can affect the state of the human psyche. As it turned out, when the 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 a pathologically high tone, the following signs can signal this:
- their density increased;
- does not leave the feeling of tension;
- you feel tight;
- movements are constrained;
- you feel muscle fatigue;
- the rate of muscle growth slowed down;
- often appear muscle spasms with acute pain.
There are two types of hypertension:
- . On different groups muscle tone is disturbed in different ways.
- Muscle rigidity. The tone is equally high in all muscle groups.
Why does hypertonicity appear
Most often, this pathology is associated with a violation of the nervous system. It is from her that signals come, after which the muscles relax or tighten. It is she who controls their tone. Increased muscle tone can appear for various reasons:
- cardiovascular diseases (they damage the central nervous system);
- neurological pathology congenital;
- due to injury, the brain or spinal cord was damaged;
- a person has demyelinating diseases.
And the tone may depend on the psychological state. Our central nervous system often perceives all sorts of shocks and stresses as a potential threat, and sets in motion muscle tone. 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 the baby after the fetal position must get used to the new position of the body. Do not be afraid if your baby has been diagnosed with muscular dystonia.
Tone is an important characteristic of the state of the nervous system of the child and his general condition. Violations of it can be a symptom of serious pathologies of the central nervous system, spinal cord and brain. For example, dystonia always accompanies elevated intracranial pressure.
Violations of tone can provoke delays in physical and mental development. Such babies later begin to crawl, sit, walk.
Therefore, it is worth showing the baby to a neurologist. Babies born are considered a special risk group. ahead of time, "caesareans", children with low weight.
The consequences of violations of tone for children can be different:
- posture, gait may deteriorate, sometimes clubfoot appears;
- hypertonicity can later turn into hyperexcitability, the child will be inattentive, study poorly, and begin to show aggression;
- hypotension leads to physical and psychological lethargy, apathy, hypodynamia, obesity, developmental delay.
It is important that parents monitor the condition of the child. For the first months, it is normal for the baby to stay in the fetal position. The newborn may experience increased muscle tension. For them, the physiological tone is normal. That is why even a newborn should not be left unattended on the changing table. He can actively move his legs, arms and even roll over.
Parents should be concerned if:
- the hips of the newborn are divorced more than 90 degrees, this is a symptom;
- spreading the hips of the child, you feel excessive resistance, this is a symptom of hypertonicity;
- a symptom of a violation of tone is an unnatural posture of the child in the crib. In pathology, it can shrink into a ball or, conversely, spread out like a frog;
- the child does not eat well, cries for no reason, throwing his head back;
- convulsions and fever are observed;
- the baby does not gurgle, does not smile.
You can not swaddle the baby tightly, even at night. With such swaddling, the child is in a very unnatural position. Doctors have noticed that babies who are not swaddled tightly are less likely to have impaired tone and neurological problems.
If, nevertheless, a correction of the tone is required, then therapeutic massage is most often prescribed. It is prescribed to babies after a month and a half 
age.
Medical therapy is rarely used. The specific treatment will depend on the underlying causes. Do not be afraid of massage.
The main thing is that it should be performed by an experienced and qualified children's masseur. A good professional massage normalizes muscle tone, improves blood circulation, and stabilizes the nervous system.
It is useful for a child to do simple exercises:
- Stroke his back, the legs of the handle. At the same time, it is impossible to affect the lumbar region.
- Massage your palms, heels, fingers on legs and arms. Movements should not be strong and abrupt.
- After three months the baby can do more complex exercises. They can be selected by a physiotherapy specialist.
To correct muscle tone, baths with herbs (soothing collection, motherwort, chamomile), 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 hospital. Then, every six months, parents should show the baby to an orthopedist, a neurologist. Some manipulations for such a diagnosis can be performed by the parents themselves:
- We part the hips. The baby lies on his back. You part his hips without any effort. The norm is moderate resistance. With a reduced tone, it is completely absent, and with an increased tone, it is too strong. A healthy baby should spread the legs 45 degrees on each side.
- We sit the baby by the arms. The baby lies on its back. Pull the baby by the wrists as if you want to sit him down. The norm is a slight resistance to extension in the elbows of the hands. With a reduced tone, there will be no resistance, with an increased tone, it is excessive.
- Step reflex and ground reflex. Holding under the armpits, place the baby on the changing table. To encourage you to take a step, lean forward slightly. Norma - the child stands and leans on the entire foot, his toes are straightened. While leaning forward, the baby should not cross the legs, imitates the process of walking. But after 1.5 months, this reflex fades. But with hypertonicity, it lasts longer. Symptoms of hypertonicity: pursed fingers, crossed legs. Symptoms muscle hypotension in infants: steps on excessively bent legs (you must keep the crumbs under the armpits), squatting or refusing to walk.
Therapy Methods
As already mentioned, in case of violations of tone, professional therapeutic massage is often prescribed, 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 medical gymnastics;
- electrophoresis;
- swimming;
- relaxing baths with herbs (sage, valerian, motherwort, chamomile, soothing collection, needles) or sea salt;
- in more complex cases, drugs are prescribed (vascular drugs, nootropics, diuretics).
Important: Recently, pediatricians have agreed that jumpers and walkers can harm the child's muscular system and the entire musculoskeletal system. In them, the force of gravity is unevenly distributed. This leads to an excessive load on the spine and pelvis, muscle tension, the child gets used to not standing completely on the foot.
Remember that as you reach middle age, muscle tone may drop. It will not be superfluous to do therapeutic exercises or moderate loads V gym. Remember that the general condition of your body, performance and emotional state directly depend on muscle tone!
The human body is a complex system consisting of functional subsystems. The skeletal system supports the weight of the body through bones and ligaments within the limits of joint mobility. The musculoskeletal system creates the transmission of forces while maintaining the weight of the body. Muscles work in interaction with each other. And any violation of the muscles leads to disruption of the body as a whole.
Muscles in tone
Muscle tone is the residual tension in the muscles during 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 neurology. It is accompanied by pain and movement restrictions. The main signs of increased muscle tone are:
- voltage
- immobility
- discomfort when moving
- muscle stiffness
- muscle spasms
- spontaneous physical activity
- increased tendon reflexes
- delayed relaxation of spasmodic 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 injury
- stroke
Muscle tone is subject to mental and emotional states, temperature changes, but to the least extent.
Treatment of hypertonicity, as a rule, takes place in a complex of physiotherapy with muscle relaxants.
Decreased muscle tone
Muscle hypotonicity, on the other hand, is a state of reduced muscle tone, often combined with decreased muscle strength. Recognizing this lesion is not difficult, difficult, and sometimes impossible, to identify the cause of this condition. Diagnosis of muscle hypotonia occurs, as a rule, even in childhood.
The course of reduced muscle tone has pronounced symptoms:
- there is a sharp weakness in the muscles
- gradual development of an atonic state of the skeletal muscles
- reduced or completely absent any movements of the limbs and body
- decrease or absence of unconditioned reflexes
- difficulty in breathing
- it becomes impossible for a person to sit in the usual postures
- joints of the upper and lower extremities become looser and may begin to twist
The most common causes of hypotension are genetic diseases such as Down's syndrome, Aicardi's syndrome, Robinov's syndrome, Patau's syndrome, Williams' syndrome, etc.
In addition, the diseases that a person has had throughout his life also play an important role. These include:
- development of dystrophy various groups muscles
- atrophy of the spinal muscles
- transferred encephalitis, meningitis
– poliomyelitis
- sepsis
- myasthenia gravis
- hernia of the esophagus
Muscular hypotension is usually a consequence of the disease. That is why drug therapy is aimed at eliminating the disease that led to the disruption of the body's muscular system. The main goal of treating muscle hypotonia is the gradual reduction and elimination of the symptoms that appear: weakness in the muscles, 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 independent changes in the prescribed treatment is not acceptable.
Massage and exercise for muscle tone
There are several simple exercises, which will help relieve tension in muscles and ligaments, and help the body relax:
- leaning to the side
- flexion of the body
- hamstring stretch
In addition to basic exercises, self-massage can help with muscle tone disorders. The patient must take comfortable posture, with the help of fingertips, the neck is rubbed. Then stroked rear surface neck. In this case, the palms are pressed quite tightly to the neck. The muscles of the shoulder girdle are kneaded with pinches. At the end of the massage, the neck is tapped with the fingertips, and slow circular strokes are performed.
Violation of muscle tone in children
In children under one year, 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 is characterized by 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 in order to avoid such consequences as deformation of the joints and skeleton, movement disorders.
In a child of the first year of life with hypertonicity, stiffness and stiffness of movements are manifested. The baby can not relax even during sleep. Hence the accompanying problems - anxiety, sleep disturbance, chin trembling.
The causes of such a violation may be birth trauma or birth hypoxia.
Hypotension in children under one year in its manifestation is less common than hypertonicity. Most often, babies born prematurely, as well as children with infectious diseases and disorders of the endocrine system, are susceptible to such violations. Such a violation is manifested, as a rule, by rare whims. These babies rarely cry.
The cause of reduced muscle tone can be a serious birth injury, such as an intracranial hematoma. As a result, the child begins to lag behind in psychomotor development, starts holding his head late, and gains weight poorly. And most importantly, such a violation can lead to respiratory disorders.
Complex therapy prescribed by specialists for violations of muscle tone includes:
– physiotherapy – mud therapy, electrophoresis
– course massage to relax “tired” muscles
