Causes of Hypotonia Low Muscle Tone, Muscle Tension Decrease
Hypotonia is not a disease, but a symptom. It means you are experiencing a severe decrease in skeletal muscle tone or tension.
Muscle tone is the amount of resistance to movement. Hypotonia muscles contract slower and don’t maintain a contraction for as long as healthy muscles do. And hypotonia is not the same as muscle weakness, which is a reduction in muscle strength.
Some symptoms associated with low muscle tone are:
- floppy
- “rag doll” like
- shallow breathing
- mouth hangs open
- swallowing problems
- inability to hold head up
- muscles feel soft & doughy
- limb extension beyond normal limits
Many different health conditions or factors can cause reduced muscle tension hypotonia, such as:
- trauma
- muscle disorders
- genetic disorders
- environmental factors
- central nervous system problems
Hypotonia can affect children or adults. Some health conditions that can cause diminished tone:
- rickets
- myopathy
- Rett syndrome
- achondroplasia
- Krabbe disease
- down syndrome
- vaccine reaction
- hypervitaminosis
- Canavan disease
- aicardi syndrome
- Marfan syndrome
- Menkes syndrome
- Tay-Sachs disease
- metabolic disorders
- muscular dystrophy
- Klinefelter syndrome
- familial dysautonomia
- Prader-Willi syndrome
- Guillain-Barré syndrome
- methylmalonic acidemia
- hypotonic cerebral palsey
- congenital hypothyroidism
- congenital cerebellar ataxia
- Phelan-McDermid syndrome
- metachromatic leukodystrophy
- kernicterus ~ brain damage caused by excessive jaundice
- autoimmune disorders ~ myasthenia gravis, celiac disease
- infections ~ infant botulism, sepsis, encephalitis, meningitis, poliomyelitis
In some cases, hypotonia doesn’t increase in severity and may improve over time.
Treatment for hypotonia starts by treating any underlying health condition. Additionally, physical therapy and braces may help with movement difficulties due to low muscle tone or your tension decreases.
- Causes of Paralysis, Paralyzed Muscle, Paralytic and Paresis Condition
- Movement Disorder Dystonia Causes Involuntary Dystonic Movements
- About Rheumatic Diseases, Arthritis, Rheumatism, Rheumatology, Rheumatologist
- About Connective Tissue Disorder, Autoimmune and Mixed Connective Tissue Disease
- Causes of Myalgia, Muscle Pain, Muscle Ache, Painful Muscles, Pain in Muscle Symptoms
