What causes hypertonia in infants?
The underlying cause of hypertonia is an injury to a baby’s central nervous system. This injury can occur while developing in the womb, during the delivery process, or shortly after birth.
What is the difference between hypertonia and hypotonia?
The prefix ‘hypo’ means ‘less’ or ‘under’ and so hypotonia is the opposite of hypertonia, characterised by decreased muscle tone, or ‘low tone’. This leads to excessive flexibility, causing the muscles to seem limp and floppy.
What is infant hypertonia?
Description. Hypertonia is a condition in which there is too much muscle tone so that arms or legs, for example, are stiff and difficult to move. Muscle tone is regulated by signals that travel from the brain to the nerves and tell the muscle to contract.
What is the most common cause of hypotonia in the newborn?
A majority of diagnosis is obtained by history and physical examination. Neuroimaging, genetic and metabolic tests were also important in diagnosis. Genetic, syndromic–nonsyndromic, and metabolic disorders were the most causes of neonatal hypotonia.
What does a baby with hypertonia look like?
Children with hypertonia have poor balance, trouble walking, difficulty reaching and grabbing objects, and sometimes they need help eating.
What does hypertonia look like in newborns?
Infants and newborns diagnosed with hypertonia have stiff muscles, especially their arms, legs and neck, which can be difficult to move. Muscle tone is the amount of resistance (tension) to movement in your muscles. You can feel your muscle tone if you pinch your bicep while it’s relaxing.
Can a child with hypertonia walk?
Hypertonia is increased muscle tone, and lack of flexibility. Children with Hypertonia make stiff movements and have poor balance. They may have difficulty feeding, pulling, walking, or reaching.
Can Hypertonia in babies be cured?
Hypertonia is a lifelong condition that can improve over time with treatment. Treatment aims to reduce symptoms and improve muscle function. The timeline as to when you’ll feel better is dependent on the cause and severity of your diagnosis.
Can a baby grow out of hypertonia?
Hypertonia is a lifelong condition and the prognosis is dependent on the cause of the diagnosis. Some children will feel better after long-term treatment and the condition will have no consequences on their overall health.
Can kids with hypertonia walk?
How can I tell if my baby has hypertonia?
Symptoms of hypertonia include:
- Decreased range of motion.
- Difficulty moving arms, legs or neck.
- Loss of balance and frequent falls.
- Limited joint movement and very little flexibility.
- Throbbing pain or soreness in muscles.
- Involuntary muscle twitching or jerking (myoclonus).
Do babies outgrow hypertonia?
How do I know if my baby has hypertonia?
Too much tension in the muscles while the baby is at rest. Rigid limbs and neck. Difficulty bending and stretching the arms, legs and neck. Very little or no movement of the limbs and neck.
Can hypertonia in babies be cured?
What is hypertonia in newborns?
Abnormally increased muscle tone is called hypertonia, which may cause muscle stiffness and difficulty in moving the limbs. Hypertonia is less common among babies than hypotonia (floppy baby syndrome). The condition is a central nervous system pathology and could be present at birth or develop after birth.
Is it normal for a baby to have high muscle tone?
Some babies may have high muscle tone on both sides of the body, while a few may have it on one side. Common signs and symptoms seen in hypertonia in babies include the following (2).
What is hypertonia and how is it regulated?
Muscle tone is regulated by signals that travel from the brain to the nerves and tell the muscle to contract. Hypertonia happens when the regions of the brain or spinal cord that control these signals are damaged.
What are the signs and symptoms of hypertonia?
Signs And Symptoms Of Hypertonia 1 Reduced range of motion 2 Stiff or rigid muscles 3 Body deformity 4 Awkward muscle contractions 5 Frozen or fixed joints 6 Unable to walk or stand as peers 7 Involuntarily crossing of the legs More