Definition. 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 "low muscle tone" and what does it mean?
- Low muscle tone, or hypotonia, is a condition characterized by loose, floppy muscles in children. Babies with low muscle tone have delayed motor skills, muscle weakness and coordination problems that can follow them into adulthood.
What are symptoms of low muscle tone?
- decreased muscle tone; muscles feel soft and doughy
- ability to extend limb beyond its normal limit
- failure to acquire motor-related developmental milestones (such as holding head up without support from parent,rolling over,sitting up without support,walking)
- problems with feeding (inability to suck or chew for prolonged periods)
- shallow breathing
What is the medical term meaning lack of muscle strength?
- Hypotonia is a medical term used to describe decreased muscle tone. Normally, even when relaxed, muscles have a very small amount of contraction that gives them a springy feel and provides some resistance to passive movement. It is not the same as muscle weakness, although the two conditions can co-exist.
What is the medical term meaning absence of muscle tone?
- chronic autoimmune neuromuscular disease characterized by varying degrees of weakness of the skeletal (voluntary) muscles of the body. Its name, which is Latin and Greek in origin, literal means "grave muscle weakness" because the primary symptom is muscle weakness that increases during periods of activity and improves after periods of rest.