25 Aug 🥴Have you been told that your baby had hypotonia? 🤔Wondering what is hypotonia and how do I know if my baby has hypotonia?

Hypotonia, also known as floppy muscle tone or low muscle tone, is characterised by decreased muscle tone or muscle stiffness. It refers to abnormally reduced resistance to passive movement in the muscles. In children with hypotonia, their muscles feel unusually soft and lack the typical firmness or tension that is present in a child with normal muscle tone.

👶🏻3 Early Signs that your baby may have hypotonia:

1. When carrying your baby in your arms, they feel like they would slip through your arms if you didn’t hold on tight to them. Carrying baby is often described as carrying a Koala Bear 🐨because they don’t seem to hold themselves strong and upright.

2. Baby’s head seems too heavy for baby to hold up by themselves. Tummy time is a struggle because baby can’t lift their head up off the mat.👶🏻 Baby’s neck muscles are too weak to hold their head up in all positions.

3. Baby’s arms and legs seems floppy and when you hold and shake baby’s wrist or ankles, their hands 🤚and feet 🦶seems to flap about a lot. Baby’s arm and leg muscles feels squishy to touch and hold.

Often children with hypotonia will be delayed in their gross motor skills, meaning that they are not rolling at 5 months old, they are not sitting at 8 months old, they are not crawling at 10 months old, they are not pulling to stand at 14 months old and they are not walking at 18 months old. Early Intervention is key to helping children with hypotonia achieve their best potential.🔑

If you are concerned that your little one has low muscle tone or you have been told that your child has hypotonia, ring My Favourite Physio on 📱(02) 9790 4233 to speak to one of our Expert Paediatric Physiotherapists 🤓today!

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