How to understand that a newborn has tone. Increased tone in a child: causes, symptoms and treatment

Externally, hypertonicity manifests itself: trembling of the chin when crying, hands clenched into fists, poor ability to straighten hands, or stand on toes. Usually the child behaves restlessly and often cries. A clear sign is the sleeping position: the child's head is thrown back, arms and legs are pressed tightly against each other. If you try to separate them, you will feel resistance.

Treatment of hypertension

If you notice signs of hypertension, do not ignore them. It's worth seeing a doctor. If the diagnosis is made, then it is worthwhile to restore the normal functioning of the nervous system. As a rule, a state of hypo- and hypertonicity is a sign of perinatal encephalopathy, and if the necessary treatment is not carried out in time, this can later lead to impaired speech and coordination of movements, and poor functioning of the limbs.

If you have hypertension, you should avoid patting and chopping movements during massage, kneading muscles. Don't put your child in walkers and jumpers, in addition to the fact that they put too much stress on the pelvis and spine, the incorrect distribution of gravity forces in walkers does not teach the child to stand on his entire foot, the leg muscles become tense, and hypertonicity increases. If you really need to put your child in a walker, wear comfortable shoes with hard soles, and not sliders, socks or booties.

If, after the course, you do not notice any improvement, ask your doctor whether there is a need to intensify the treatment and whether it is necessary to conduct any additional studies of the baby’s body.

Hypotonicity - decreased tone

A child with low tone causes almost no trouble to parents: he is absolutely calm, sleeps a lot and rarely cries. But this is imaginary prosperity. Look carefully at how the baby lies in the crib. A relaxed posture, arms and legs spread out in different directions indicate that his muscle tone is reduced. In children with reduced tone, the legs and arms are extended at the joints by more than 180 degrees. In addition, due to muscle weakness, sucking and swallowing are impaired, and there is often a delay in the rate of motor development: such babies later begin to hold their heads, roll over, sit, and stand.

In case of decreased tone, a stimulating massage is performed, which activates the child. It includes a large number of “chopping” and kneading movements. After traditional stroking, use the edge of your palm to lightly walk along the baby’s legs, arms and back. Then place your baby on his stomach and roll your knuckles over his back, butt, legs and arms. Then turn him over onto his back and roll your knuckles over his stomach, arms and legs. Your movements must be active and strong enough. Move from the periphery to the center, starting from the limbs: from the hand to the shoulder, from the foot to the groin.

Dystonia - uneven tone

When a child’s muscles are too relaxed, while others, on the contrary, are too tense, they speak of uneven tone - dystonia. In this variant, the child shows signs of hypo- and hypertonicity. Asymmetry of tone is easily detected by the uneven distribution of skin folds. This is especially noticeable when the baby lies on his stomach on a hard, flat surface. In this position, a newborn with dystonia will fall on one side, on the one where the tone is increased. The child's head and pelvis will be turned towards the tense muscles, the torso will bend in an arc.

If the tone is uneven, you should do a relaxing massage with force on the side in which the tone is lower. Exercises on an inflatable ball have a good effect. Place the child with his stomach on the ball, legs bent (like a frog) and pressed against the surface of the ball. The father or someone in the household must hold the baby's legs in this position. And you take the baby by the arms and pull him towards you. Then return to the starting position. Now take the baby by the shins and pull them towards you until the baby’s face is at the top of the ball, or the legs touch the floor. Then smoothly return the baby to the starting position. Tilt the little one forward, away from you, so that his palms reach the floor. Repeat this exercise several times forward and backward. Then place your baby sideways on the bouncy ball. Swing the ball smoothly. Repeat these exercises 10-15 times daily.

How to determine hypertonicity, hypotonicity and dystonia.

Sitting down by hands

Place the child on his back, on a hard, flat surface, take him by the wrists and gently pull him towards you, as if sitting him down. You should feel moderate resistance as you extend your elbows. If the child's arms straighten without resistance, and in a sitting position, the stomach is strongly protruded forward, the back is like a wheel, the head is tilted back or lowered down - these are signs of decreased tone. If you cannot move your child’s arms away from the chest and straighten them, this, on the contrary, indicates hypertonicity. As the child grows older, in response to pulling on the arms, the child will try to pull himself up and sit down.

Step reflex and support reflex

Take the baby under the arms, “put” him on the changing table and slightly tilt him forward, forcing him to take a step. Normally, the child should stand on his full foot with his toes straightened. And when bending forward, the newborn imitates walking. If the baby crosses his legs and rests only on his toes, this is a sign of increased tone. This reflex gradually fades away and by 1.5-2 months it practically disappears. If a child older than 2 months still has a step reflex, this is evidence of hypertonicity. Instead of standing, does the newborn crouch, take a step on strongly bent legs, or refuse to walk at all? This indicates decreased tone. If a child stands on his toes with one foot and seems to be dancing with the other, this is dystonia.

Symmetrical and asymmetrical reflexes

Place your baby on his back with your palm under the back of his head and gently tilt the baby's head toward your chest. He should bend his arms and straighten his legs. Then place the baby on his back and slowly, without force, turn his head towards his left shoulder. The child will take the so-called fencing pose: extend his arm forward, straighten his left leg and bend his right leg. Then turn the child’s face to the right - he must repeat this pose, only in its “mirror” version: he will stretch his right arm forward, straighten his right leg and bend his left. Asymmetric and symmetric reflex gradually disappear by 2-3 months. The presence of these reflexes in a three-month-old child indicates increased tone, and their absence in the first two months of life is, on the contrary, a sign of decreased tone.

Tonic reflex

Place the baby on his back on a hard surface. In this position, the newborn’s extensor tone increases, he tries to straighten his limbs and seems to open up. Then turn the child onto his stomach, and he will “close” and pull his bent arms and legs under him (the tone of the flexors increases on the stomach). Normally, the tonic reflex gradually disappears by 2-2.5 months. If it is absent in a newborn, this indicates decreased tone. And if by three months the tonic reflex does not go away, this is a sign of hypertonicity.

Moro and Babinski reflexes

The Moro reflex involves throwing your arms out to the sides when overexcited. And the Babinski reflex is expressed in the reflex extension of the toes when the foot is irritated or tickled. Normally, both reflexes should disappear by the end of the 4th month of life.

Stiffness in the limbs

This symptom occurs both in pathologies of the musculoskeletal system and in neurogenic pathologies. And also for children with cerebral palsy. Cerebral palsy is most often associated with damage to the brain, less often to the spinal cord. Muscular hypertension is accompanied not only by increased tendon reflexes and the appearance of pathological signs, but also by excessive movements. Severe muscle hypertension from the first days of life occurs with congenital destructive brain lesions. In these cases, muscle tone significantly exceeds physiological tone, there is general stiffness, sometimes contractures in large joints, and limitation of spontaneous movements. The reason for the appearance of muscle hypertonicity: the mother suffered an intrauterine infection during pregnancy, fetal hypoxia, group incompatibility of the blood of the parents, Rh conflict. Also, muscle hypertonicity occurs in children born through asphyxia, traumatic birth, and at an older age – with delayed psychological development.

If muscle tone and associated reflexes do not undergo changes appropriate to the baby’s age, this is a reason to consult an orthopedic doctor and neurologist. Firstly, if parents suspect something is wrong, contact a doctor without delay. Secondly, perform global electromyography using special equipment.

Hypotonia, muscle flaccidity in a child. Vanga's recipes

• Make sure that children walk barefoot as often as possible in the summer without interrupting their connection with the earth. Let your children go outside in the summer not only barefoot, but also naked. Let them get scratches and play everywhere to develop protection against all diseases. In addition to washing, children definitely need to wash their feet every evening.
• Add 20 g of sulfur to 400 g of honey, thoroughly lubricate the child’s body with this mixture and massage. The massage should be done by a specialist. After this, the child should sweat three times. Change clothes, wrap them up well and let them sleep.
• In the spring you need to make ten baths with a decoction of fresh walnut leaves.
• Keep their food mostly liquid. Don't punish children with dry food.
• For muscle weakness in children, add 20 g of sulfur to 400 g of honey, thoroughly lubricate the child’s body with this mixture and massage. The massage is performed by a specialist. After this, the child should sweat three times. He needs to be changed, wrapped up well and allowed to sleep.
• Vanga successfully used clay to treat lethargic and weakened children. Clay renews all weakened cells, provides the body with trace elements and minerals (calcium, iron, magnesium, potassium, silica, etc.) in the most digestible form. It contains exactly the mineral salts that we lack, delivering them in doses that best suit our body. In addition, clay absorbs all toxins, poisons, putrefactive gases, excess acid and removes them from the body, completely cleansing it.
  Vanga believed that weakened, lethargic children, as well as all anemic people with lymphatic diseases and suffering from a lack of minerals, should constantly drink clay water. The normal dose for children is 2 teaspoons of clay powder per day. Take in the morning, immediately after waking up and in the evening before bed.
• For a sick child with flaccid muscles, Vanga prescribed bathing in hot spring water, for example, soda, arsenic, bitumen or sulfur water. Sea water is also useful.
• You can place cups on the first vertebra and place the sick child in a bath with heated oil.
• To treat this disease, Vanga used oats (cereals, whole oats and oat grain flour, green plants (the tops of 20 cm long stems are collected during the heading period)), as well as straw.
  Oat decoction: oatmeal (200 g) should be soaked in cold water (0.5 l) several hours before preparing the decoction. And then cook for 15 - 20 minutes. It is better to use a decoction of oats with honey, 1/4 cup 2 times a day before meals for 2 - 3 weeks. For 1 glass of decoction – 1 teaspoon of honey.
  Green oat juice: Pass the green parts of the plant through a juicer or meat grinder. Children take 1/4 cup 2 times a day before meals for 2 - 3 weeks.
• Every day, at least a few spoons, the child should eat semolina porridge (if there is no allergy to it). It works well on bones, muscles, and the gastrointestinal tract. Give young children warm milk to drink, to which fresh raw eggs are mixed: take 1 egg for 2 glasses of milk and shake the mixture well. You need to teach your child to drink milk 3 times a day. The results will be wonderful.
• Use walnuts for bathing weakened children. Brew walnut leaves for a bath. 250 grams of leaves are poured into 1 liter of boiling water and boiled for 20 minutes. The broth is filtered and poured into a bath with a water temperature of 37 degrees.
• Bath your children in a decoction of milkweed. This will give them strength. 250 grams of milkweed leaves are poured into 1 liter of boiling water and boiled for 20 minutes. The broth is filtered and poured into a bath with a water temperature of 37 degrees.

Hypertonicity is a disorder of muscle tone in which the muscles remain tense even after contraction, in a state of rest and relaxation. Hypertonicity in infants is a fairly common diagnosis and is diagnosed in almost every second newborn child.

Reasons for appearance

Muscle tone is the residual muscle tension during muscle relaxation or resistance to passive movements during voluntary muscle relaxation. Normally, it is regulated by the brain and spinal cord and functions automatically in a healthy person. It is thanks to muscle tone that a person can walk and change the position of the body in space.

For the motor activity of an infant learning new motor skills, muscle tone is extremely important. When muscles are constantly constrained and tight, mastery of these skills is delayed, which causes discomfort and anxiety in the baby.

In the vast majority of cases, hypertonicity in newborns is associated with neurological disorders, which can be caused by a number of factors. These include:

• maternal illness during pregnancy, accompanied by chronic intoxication of the body;
• constant tone of the uterus during pregnancy;
• difficult pregnancy, threat of miscarriage;
• severe toxicosis at the beginning or end of pregnancy;
• during pregnancy, infectious pathologies (toxoplasmosis, chlamydia, meningitis, encephalitis) were treated;
• fetal brain hypoxia;
• protracted or rapid labor, which was accompanied by a long anhydrous period, incomplete opening of the birth canal, etc.;
• endocrine and cardiovascular diseases of the mother.

The most common cause of hypertonicity is asphyxia (suffocation) of a newborn as a result of prolonged labor, as well as intracranial hemorrhage. Sometimes obstetricians-gynecologists make a too small, “cosmetic” incision during a cesarean section in order to reduce the postoperative suture and the future scar from it. However, the size of the child’s head turns out to be significantly larger than the incision (36 cm versus 13 cm!), which is fraught with injury to the cervical spine and damage to the spinal cord.

Hyperonus of muscles in infants is absolutely safe and does not pose any threat to health. It is characterized as “individual muscle tone”: some children naturally have increased tone, while others have decreased tone. Simply put, for some children this is a variant of the norm, while for others it is a pathology. In this case, only an examination will help establish the truth.

Physiological hypertonicity: how long is it normal?

Almost all children are born with physiologically caused hypertension. This happens because in the fetal position with the limbs bent and pressed to the body, the child’s muscles are constantly tense. Moreover, the tone in the cervical extensor muscles is higher than in the flexor muscles - because of this, the head of a newborn baby is slightly thrown back.

Increased tone is also noted in the long adductor muscles of the thighs. If you try to spread your legs to the sides, you can clearly feel resistance. In a healthy child, the lower limbs are abducted to a right angle - that is, each leg is abducted by 45°.

Physiological tone usually lasts for 3 months ± 2 weeks. After this it gradually goes away. In the flexor muscles the tone decreases, and in the extensors it levels out. In total, hypertension can persist for no more than 6 months. If it lasts longer, you need to visit a neurologist.

Reference: in some cases, physiological hypertonicity can persist in children up to a year (for example, in a premature baby), which is also considered one of the normal variants.

Signs and symptoms

Regardless of the reason that caused increased muscle tone in a baby, it is necessary to take timely measures. Otherwise, negative consequences are possible in the form of delayed motor development, leading to impaired posture and gait, and loss of coordination. That is why it is so important for parents to promptly notice the typical symptoms of hypertension and prevent its possible consequences.

High muscle tone is manifested by the following characteristic signs:

• regular and severe regurgitation after feeding;
• when crying, the child throws his head back and bends all over;
• restless and interrupted sleep, during which the baby often wakes up from any extraneous sound;
• the hands are almost always clenched into fists and are difficult to unclench;
• the head tilts in the same direction (torticollis);
• when trying to straighten the limbs, the child reacts by crying.

Regurgitation is a natural reaction to overload of the digestive tract, thus removing excess food. If the baby sleeps normally and is not capricious, and the weight gain is appropriate for his age, everything is fine. Otherwise, regurgitation may be a signal of trouble

Muscular hypertension syndrome can be determined using several tests. If you put the child on his back and smoothly pull him towards you, holding his wrists, his arms will remain bent at the elbow joints (hypertonicity of the arms). With normal tone, the child will try to pull himself up, slightly straightening his elbows, and sit down.

Step reflex. You need to take the child under the arms, and, holding him, put his feet on the table. Then slightly tilt the baby forward, as if forcing him to step. If he crosses his legs and stands on his toes, this is a sure sign of muscle hypertonicity. A healthy child puts his feet on his entire foot and tries to imitate walking.

The following test will help you understand whether a baby who is 2 months old has hypertension. To do this, you need to check for the presence of symmetrical and asymmetrical reflexes. The symmetrical reflex is checked as follows: the child is placed on a flat table, the back of the head is held with the palm of the hand and the head is slowly tilted towards the chest. When performing this movement, the child’s arms reflexively bend and his legs extend.

To check the asymmetric reflex, the child's head must be turned towards the shoulder. At the same time, his arm and leg on the side of the shoulder to which his head is turned will straighten, and the opposite limbs will reflexively bend.

Both symmetrical and asymmetrical reflexes disappear by the age of 2-3 months. If this does not happen, and the reflexes are preserved, it means that the tone is still increased.

To confirm hypertonicity, a tonic reflex is also used: the child is simply placed on his back, and he instinctively straightens his arms and legs, “opening up”. If you turn him over on his stomach, the limbs almost immediately bend and are pulled towards the center of the body. Due to the increase in the tone of the flexor muscles, the child seems to be trying again to assume the fetal position.

The tonic reflex gradually decreases and disappears completely after 2 – 2.5 months. Its presence in a 3-month-old child indicates continued increased tone.

The Babinski and Moro reflexes are present for the longest time and disappear only at 4 months. The Babinski reflex is a reflexive extension of the toes in response to touch and tickling. The Moro reflex is a sharp abduction of the arms to the sides when excited.

What is the danger?

The presence of the above manifestations in children under one year of age is a good reason to consult a neurologist, including in the case of physiological hypertonicity. A specialist will help you figure out whether there really is a deviation from the norm. If left untreated, neurological pathology will progress and can lead to significant delays in mental and physical development and even disability.

Due to the increased tone of the neck muscles, it is more comfortable for the child to lie with his head turned in the direction where the muscles are more tense. As a result, the bones of the skull are formed incorrectly. Persistent hypertonicity of the lower extremities leads to impaired coordination of movements and the formation of a normal arch of the feet. In this case, asymmetry of not only muscles, but also bones is possible - one limb becomes shorter than the other. Over time, your posture deteriorates and your gait changes.

If muscle hypertonicity persists when the child is 2-3 years old, the situation becomes more complicated. The baby continues to walk on his toes and cannot cope with actions that require fine motor skills. However, everything is not at all hopeless, and you need to continue treatment, since there is still every chance of coping with the problem.

A serious threat is posed by muscle hypertonicity in a 4-5 year old child who not only walks on his toes, but is also unable to hold a pencil in his hand. Due to delayed mental and physical development, he does not have time to master the school curriculum and cannot engage in physical education in a general group.

Statistics say that approximately 6% of children experience increased muscle tone throughout the preschool period. However, subject to systematic treatment procedures, 4% of them manage to keep up with the educational process and attend a regular school. By a certain age, usually upon reaching 12-13 years, muscle hypertension goes away completely. The remaining 2%, unfortunately, study in specialized educational institutions and receive a disability.

Treatment

Hypertonicity should be treated depending on the main diagnosis - that is, to influence its cause. For infectious pathologies, antibiotics and antiviral drugs are prescribed. If necessary, dehydration therapy is carried out to normalize intracranial pressure.

In pediatric practice, nootropics are prescribed according to strict indications. The most commonly used is Glycine, which has minimal side effects.

An integral part of treatment are neuroprotective drugs that prevent damage to brain neurons. Muscle relaxants help eliminate tension and relax muscles - these drugs can not only relieve tightness and stiffness in children's muscles, but also clarify the diagnosis. For severe neurological disorders, muscle relaxants are absolutely ineffective.

If defects in the development of the nervous system or tumor formations are detected, surgical intervention is indicated.

Massage

The main method of treating hypertension in infants is massage. Additionally, physiotherapy and therapeutic exercises are used. And only in especially severe cases are medications prescribed.

The main purpose of massage is muscle relaxation. The first course usually consists of 10 sessions and must be carried out by a qualified massage therapist. In the future, you can do massage at home, having studied the technique of its implementation.

For hypertonicity of the lower extremities, doctors often prescribe paraffin boots. Paraffin is applied to the feet and kept for 10-20 minutes. This procedure is done either separately or in combination with massage. During the massage session, the master massages the upper torso, while the baby's legs are warmed by warm wax.

Information: Most often, hypertonicity is diagnosed in the first month of a child’s life.

Since massage is used to relieve tension and relax muscles, all movements should be soft and smooth. You cannot squeeze the muscles too much, knead them, pat or tap them.

It is not difficult to carry out a massage session on your own if you use basic techniques:

• stroke your fingers with movements as if putting on gloves;
• stroke each arm in the direction from shoulder to elbow, and from elbow to hand. The impact on the elbow joint itself is excluded;
• If hand massage begins with the distal parts - fingers, then you need to massage the lower limbs, starting from the top. First stroke the thighs, then move to the legs and down to the feet. The knee joint, groin area and inner thigh should be treated especially carefully;
• the feet are stroked in the direction from the heels to the toes, then each toe separately;
• drawing a three-dimensional figure eight: draw an imaginary line through the bases of the fingers, cross the movements near the ankle at the top, and finish the bottom of the figure eight from the bottom of the heel.

Note: massage using baby powder, Vaseline or cream is not recommended, as these products clog pores. The best massage oil for children is one that is labeled “hypoallergenic.”

If the massage is performed by a truly experienced and competent massage therapist, the first sessions will almost certainly cause crying and dissatisfaction in the child. However, with each subsequent procedure he will feel better and enjoy it.

It should be noted that sometimes children behave restlessly and cry during a massage session. In such a situation, it is difficult to say why the child is upset. Perhaps even slight pressure on the muscles causes pain, or he does not like the procedure itself. Many experts are sure that there should be no pain. Others, on the contrary, are convinced that this is a natural reaction of the body.

Exercise therapy

Therapeutic exercises stimulate motor activity and normalize muscle tone. You can do them at home in the following sequence:

• put the child on his side and, holding him by the upper shoulder with one hand, run the edge of the palm of the other hand along the spine. The Talent reflex will work - the baby will instinctively straighten his back;
• Turn the child over onto his back and place your palms under his upper body and head. In this case, the baby’s legs should rest against the stomach of the person doing the gymnastics (mom or dad). Then raise it so that only the pelvis and legs remain on the table. This strengthens the abdominal muscles;
• Having placed the child on his stomach, you need to spread his legs to the sides, bending at the knees. Move your feet to the center and lightly press on them, grasping both feet with your entire hand. The child will try to crawl, trying to straighten his legs;
• turning the baby onto his back, grab his leg just above the ankle - the fingers will instinctively clench. Continuing to hold your foot, run your thumb along the foot in the direction from the heel to the toes, closer to the little toe;
• Grab the baby’s hands and feet with one hand, and place the palm of the other underneath for support. Lift it up and swing it from side to side;
• the child lies on his back, legs bent at the knee joints. Bending the baby's legs at the hip joints, spread them apart and bring them together with rotational movements.

Children with hypertonicity are contraindicated in devices that unevenly load the muscles and put additional stress on the fragile spine - for example, walkers and jumpers. When a child learns to walk, it is very important to choose the right shoes for him. These can be orthopedic models or regular boots with a high back and a special insole liner. Flat-soled shoes (slippers, ballet flats, knitted booties) are absolutely not suitable.

It is also recommended to use shoes not only for walking, but also to wear them at home. Walking in convenient and comfortable shoes that support the foot well will contribute to the correct formation of the arch of the feet by evenly distributing the load on the leg muscles.

It should be noted that muscle hypertonicity in children is most often physiological in nature and does not require treatment with medications. To eliminate spasticity, massage sessions and physiotherapy are sufficient. The baby’s brain is able to compensate for neurological defects on its own, but this will take several months.

Nine out of ten newborns are diagnosed by pediatricians with “muscle hypertonicity.” What is this - pathology or normal? And how dangerous is this for the future development of the baby? Let's try to figure it out together.

What to do if your baby is diagnosed with increased muscle tone.

What is tone? The mechanism of muscle tone

Tone (from the Greek τόνος - tension) is a state of persistent excitation of muscle tissue and nerve centers. Thanks to it, we maintain a certain posture, body position in space, pressure in the cavity of the internal organs (perhaps during pregnancy, you came across the concept of “hypertonic uterus,” that is, overly tense).

Natural muscle tension is maintained by impulses coming from our central nervous system, even at rest.

The most comfortable and safest position in the womb is the “fetal position.”

And if during pregnancy, increased tension in the muscle fibers of the uterus is dangerous for the baby in it, then his own hypertonicity is absolutely physiological. All the muscles of the unborn child are contracted for greater compactness, the arms, legs and chin are pressed to the body. This is the classic “fetal position.”

Hypertonicity of muscles in newborns

Almost all babies are born with physiologically increased muscle tone. This is due to the fact that the newborn has not yet had time to adapt to an “autonomous existence.”

The tone in the child’s neck extensor muscles is higher, so his head is slightly tilted back. In the adductor muscles of the hips, their increased tension resists the attempt to separate the legs of a newborn baby. Normally, they can be moved apart by 90 degrees - 45 degrees in each direction.

Very small babies are not yet ready to hold their head on their own.

What should you be wary of in a baby’s behavior?

The reason to consult with a neurologist should be the absence of a decrease in muscle tone after the baby is six months old.

Also, based on a number of signs, you can determine that a visit to the doctor should not be postponed:

Sleeping position can say a lot about your baby's health.

Hypertonicity in the muscles of the child’s legs

One of the classic reliable signs of increased muscle tension in the legs of an infant is the so-called “tiptoe gait.” If you take the baby by the armpits and, slightly tilting him forward, hold him and place his legs on a flat surface, the conditioned reflex of automatic gait should work. The child begins to move his legs, as if taking steps.

Normally, a baby tries to put his foot on his full foot, like an adult. If he stands on tiptoes or curls his toes inward, most likely the tone in the feet and flexor muscles of the legs is increased.

Another test to check the tone of the lower extremities is to take the baby's leg in your hands and align the foot perpendicular to the lower leg. After this, carefully try to straighten the baby’s leg at the knee. With hypertonicity, you will feel quite serious resistance to your initiative.

Even if your baby “doesn’t walk”, don’t worry, everything can be fixed!

Increased tone of neck muscles in infants

The so-called false torticollis is also caused by the general tension of the newborn’s muscles. Often the baby holds his head tilted to one side, but there are no organic disorders in the ligaments and muscles, unlike true torticollis.

Some tricks taken by mommy will help the baby gradually get rid of the annoying illness.

In a number of general therapeutic procedures (which are discussed below), special styling can be used to correct this disorder, from two to three weeks of age. When the baby is lying on the “sick” side, we put a pillow, on the “healthy” side, we do without it.

Quite convenient to use, “donuts” and other orthopedic pillows are not always suitable for such babies due to the danger of regurgitation.

- This is a fairly common phenomenon among infants. There may be many reasons for this: late complementary feeding, lack of folic acid, low physical activity. In any case, when your baby is 6 months old, take a follow-up blood test.

Many mothers get scared if their children are diagnosed with “obstruction of the lacrimal duct” and insist on surgery. Absolutely in vain. It will help to dispel unreasonable fears.

Opinion of Dr. E.O. Komarovsky about the “problem” of muscle hypertonicity in newborns

Let's agree right away that, with all due respect to the professionalism of Evgeniy Olegovich, many pediatricians do not share his opinion on one issue or another. Therefore, we will consider this section as informational for general development. After all, in any case, you are the mother, and only you can decide who you trust with the health of your baby. Agree? So…

The main problem for mothers is premature panic.

In his numerous articles and comments, the doctor has repeatedly emphasized that increased muscle tone in children under one year of age is the norm. Komarovsky also believes that the concept of a standard norm of muscle tone is fundamentally wrong. Each child has his own personal muscle tone, and what is physiological for one baby may be a sign of developmental pathology in another.

The doctor’s call in advance not to dramatize the situation seems quite reasonable. “Is hypertension dangerous in children under one year of age? An analogy is with a briefcase left by someone in a subway car. There might be a bomb there, or maybe the harried engineer just forgot it. And having discovered a find, they call specialists. Let them figure out how serious this is. Or maybe it’s complete nonsense!” (c)

Why is increased muscle tone dangerous?

In most cases, and especially with your baby (spitting over his shoulder three times!) - especially since excessive muscle tension is indeed not an organic disorder. The danger of hypertonicity, first of all, is that it may be an indicator of damage to the baby's brain and nervous system.

There can be many reasons - birth injuries, hemorrhages, fetal hypoxia during pregnancy and childbirth, meningitis. That is why doctors pay so much attention to the early diagnosis of increased muscle tone in infants.

Increased muscle tone can be the cause of delayed motor activity in a child.

Also, in the future, this may have a negative impact on the timely development of the baby, affecting his ability to crawl, stand up, and walk.

Methods for treating excessive tone

To normalize muscle tone in your baby, the doctor will select a comprehensive treatment. Physiotherapy (ultrasound, electrophoresis, heat and hydrotherapy) and various types of gymnastics with massage are usually used.

The attending physician will prescribe a set of necessary procedures.

Of course, everything related to physiotherapy will be carried out by specialists, but try to learn massage techniques yourself. Do you know why?

When it comes to treating a newborn baby, one of the main keys to a successful recovery is the psycho-emotional component.

Doctors working in orphanages can tell you how difficult it is to cure “refuseniks.” Without the warm hands of the mother, without a native, soothing voice, a familiar smell, it is difficult for the baby to endure unpleasant influences. He tenses up, gets nervous, cries, gets overexcited. But this is exactly what we are treating him for!

Mother's care, tenderness and love will provide the child with a healthy future.

Your doctor will probably teach you basic massage techniques. Its main purpose is muscle relaxation. The effect begins with smooth stroking of the arms, legs, and back. After this, you can move on to circular, rubbing movements along the back of the baby lying on his tummy. Then, turning it over, carefully shake the limbs (legs, holding the shin, hands - just above the wrist). Finish the massage with gentle stroking again.

With your love, patience and perseverance, you will definitely succeed.

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Many parents do not understand the reasons that their babies often spit up, are capricious, cry and scream a lot and sleep poorly. However, having presented these complaints and received a referral to a neurologist, they find out that the baby has muscle hypertonicity. But it also happens that young parents believe that all these phenomena are normal and do not consult a doctor because they do not know what exactly they need to pay attention to.

Signs of hypertension in infants

You can determine whether a baby has hypertonicity by carefully observing him for some time and performing simple manipulations. One of the signs of this deviation is nervousness, and anxiety and excitement are often accompanied by crying and trembling of the chin. Other symptoms of hypertension in infants are:

1. Regular severe regurgitation during and after feeding.
2. When crying, the baby arches all his bodies and throws his head back.
3. The sleep of such children becomes short-lived and restless; they wake up from any extraneous sound.
4. During sleep, the child often takes the following position: arms and legs are brought together, the head is thrown back. At this moment, you can try to carefully move the limbs apart; with hypertonicity, noticeable resistance is felt, and if you continue trying, it will become even stronger, and the child will cry.
5. When inducing the walking reflex (for this, the baby is taken under the armpits, held, placed on his legs and slightly tilted forward), the baby must place his foot on the table completely, that is, with the entire surface. In the case when he touches the table only with his toes, we can talk about hypertonicity.

Many of these signs of hypertonicity are also present in healthy babies in the first six months of their life. A consultation with a neurologist will help to accurately determine whether there are deviations and determine measures to correct them.

Causes of hypertension in infants

There are several possible causes of hypertension in infants:

1. Pathological disorders of the normal functioning of the nervous system. Such deviations can be caused by many factors:

• illness of a woman during pregnancy, accompanied by chronic intoxication;
• constant tone of the uterus during pregnancy;
• brain hypoxia during the prenatal period or during childbirth;
• the waiting time for the child coincided with the treatment of herpes, chlamydia, toxoplasmosis and other acute infections;
• severe pregnancy, constant threat of miscarriage;
• severe toxicosis in the first or last trimester;
• chronic maternal pathologies;
• smoking and drinking alcohol during pregnancy, causing fetal poisoning;
• labor that is too prolonged or too rapid (in such cases there is often insufficient full opening of the birth canal, entanglement, a long anhydrous period and other disorders);
• Incorrect incision during cesarean section delivery. Quite often, in order to reduce the suture and subsequent scar, doctors make a so-called “cosmetic” incision. In this case, the child’s head is smaller than the opening, which can result in damage to the cervical spine.

1. Incompatibility of Rh factors or blood groups, or hemolytic disease of the child.

Treatment of hypertension mainly involves massage. Its main purpose is to relieve increased tension in the muscles and relax them. In this case, it is advisable to take the first course, which includes ten sessions, from a good specialist. Before agreeing to have a massage at a clinic, you should find out better about the master working there, look for reviews and opinions about him. Of course, today the cost of baby massage is quite high, but the result will be noticeable if you choose a competent specialist. He will also be able to give recommendations on how to perform massage yourself in the future.

If a baby has hypertonicity of the legs, then doctors usually prescribe the “wax boots” procedure along with a course of massage. Sometimes these two procedures are combined, that is, the baby’s legs are wrapped in heated wax, and at this time the master massages the upper half of the body.

In most cases, one course of such procedures is not enough. However, their effectiveness is quite high, so it is worth asking your doctor for another referral after a while.

Massage for hypertension in infants

The diagnosis of “hypertonicity” in infants is most often made at the age of one month. This deviation can lead in the future to restriction of the child’s normal motor activity, as well as to its abnormal development. To eliminate this disorder, various physiotherapy techniques and a mandatory course of massage and therapeutic exercises are used. In the most severe cases, drug treatment is indicated.

Conducting therapeutic exercises and massage for infants with hypertension

During the massage, the child is in the position of lying on his back, his legs extended towards the massage therapist.

Foot massage

The session begins with the left leg. The master takes it with his left hand by the ankle joint, placing it between the middle and index fingers.

• At this time, massage is carried out with the right hand, stroking movements moving from the foot to the lower leg, and then to the lateral and front part of the thigh and groin area. Repeat these strokes about 7-10 times.
• After this, they gradually move on to rubbing the same area. It is carried out using the fingertips in straight and spiral movements, moving alternately from top to bottom and from bottom to top.
• Next, the same surface is carefully kneaded and pressed with your fingers.
• Lightly stroke the foot, moving from the toes to the heel. Gently press your finger under the baby's middle toe and move it along the outer arch of the foot. When performing this exercise, the child’s toes are usually straightened and repeated 5-7 times.
• Use your thumb to rub the child’s foot, making movements reminiscent of a figure eight.
• Then knead the foot, pressing on it with the pad of the thumb.
• Using the index and middle fingers, begin to stroke the area from the toes to the ankle joint.
• This zone is rubbed with various types of movements: spiral, straight, planing and others.

After such exercises, the child’s foot is taken with the right hand so that the thumb is under the baby’s toes, and the other fingers lie on the back of the foot. The left hand is placed on the child’s knee and fixed. Next, the leg is flexed and extended so that the hip and knee joints are involved. The exercise should be repeated about 5 times.

The baby's right leg is massaged in exactly the same way.

Having done all the exercises, take the baby’s legs by the knees and bend them at the hip and knee joints, lightly pressing the legs on the baby’s stomach. They clasp their legs by the shins with their hands and, in turn, lightly tap the table with the foot of each of them. Next, the knees of the legs are spread apart, while the feet should remain pressed together. In this position, rub one foot against the other with light movements.

Back and buttock massage

Often, by this point in the massage, the baby is already tired and begins to be capricious. He is turned over on his tummy and his back is massaged as follows:

• Rub and knead the skin with light, gentle movements, and then stroke the skin, moving from top to bottom.
• They also rub and stroke the back of the thighs and buttocks. In this case, the gluteal muscles are lightly pinched and pressed on them.

When performing a massage, all techniques performed should be alternated with stroking.

Chest and tummy

At the next stage, the child is again placed on his back and the abdomen is stroked. In this case, you need to move clockwise. Then the breasts are stroked, moving from the sternum area to the armpits, you can lightly tap the sternum with your finger.

Hand massage

After this, they move on to massaging the baby’s hands. First, kneading, rubbing and stroking the outer part of the handle is carried out. To do this, clasp the baby’s left hand in such a way that the thumb of the left hand of the one doing the massage is clamped in the baby’s fist. After this, stroking is carried out with the free right hand, moving from top to bottom, and rubbing in any direction. With hypertonicity in infants, the external muscles of the arms are weakened, stretched and need strengthening. For this purpose, vibration movements and pressure are used. The muscles of the inner arms, or flexors, on the contrary, have increased tone and require relaxation. Therefore, this part should be kneaded with light circular rubbing movements and stroking from top to bottom.

The palms and back of the hand are massaged with light movements, while carefully straightening the baby’s fingers.

The child's second hand is massaged in the same way.

Next, move on to hand exercises. When performing them, the baby is given thumbs (he reflexively grabs them) and the hands are held with other fingers. For hypertonicity in infants, the following exercises are performed:

• The arms are spread to the sides and crossed on the chest.
• Raise your hands up together and alternately.
• Perform circular rotations of the arms relative to the shoulder joint forward and backward.
• Light shaking of the handles.

All exercises are repeated approximately 5-7 times.

The total duration of a massage for hypertonicity in an infant is about half an hour. Parents can massage their baby’s hands and feet themselves, using the exercises and techniques described above. This massage should last about 10 minutes and should be repeated several times a day.

The sooner you start taking measures to eliminate hypertension in infants, the more effective these measures will be.

Hypertonicity of the legs in infants

You can determine the baby’s neurological condition by simply observing how the child moves and his posture when he is resting. A baby’s muscle tone is one of the important indicators of the functioning of the muscular and nervous system. The child’s posture is influenced by active muscle tone, while passive tone determines the mobility of individual parts of the body and resistance to movement. With normal tone, the baby’s limbs, torso and head are in the correct position. You can evaluate this by holding the baby in a position where the face is turned down. The head and body should remain in line, and the legs and arms should be slightly bent.

In the first weeks of life, the fetal position is considered normal for a child. It is characterized by arms bent and pressed to the body, fists clenched and at chest level, legs bent at the knees and slightly apart, and feet also bent. The baby's head may be slightly thrown back, this is explained by the predominance of extensors at this stage of development. It is quite difficult to move the child’s leg to the side, since the adductor muscles of the thighs dominate.

The difference between a normal increase in tone is symmetry; such tone can be maintained for up to three to four months, until the time the independent movements begin. Then, until the baby reaches the age of six months, the tone of the flexor muscles gradually decreases, and the extensor muscles also gradually increase. Thus, by six months the tone of these muscle groups should level out.

There is no single concept of what physiologically increased muscle tone in newborns is. However, it is worth distinguishing it from pathological hypertonicity in infants, the latter is associated with disturbances in the functioning of the nervous system. To determine it, it is worth dividing the limbs. When diluted again (if the baby's tone is normal), there is practically no resistance. Of course, only a specialist can accurately determine the presence of hypertension in an infant.

The norm is to spread the child's legs by about 900, that is, each of the limbs diverges by about 450. With a greater discrepancy, we can talk about insufficient tone, and if, when trying to separate the child's legs, very strong resistance occurs, then this is a sign of hypertonicity. In infants, other symptoms of this condition may include curled toes, resting on their toes, and in older children, a kind of “skier’s gait,” in which the child rests more on his toes.

Stiffness of the limbs may be a manifestation of pathology of the musculoskeletal system or neurogenic disorders. The same condition is often accompanied by cerebral palsy; in most cases, this disease affects the brain, and somewhat less frequently, the spinal cord. Such conditions are characterized by excessive movements, hypertension from the first days of the baby’s life, muscle tone that is noticeably higher than normal, and pronounced stiffness.

Hypertonicity in infants (video)

The 8-minute video clearly shows how to massage infants with hypertonicity. A professional physician demonstrates a full course of massage for hypertension on a doll.