Muscular hypotension in children - symptoms and methods of effective treatment

1 General description

Diffuse hypotension is a condition that results in a decrease in muscle tone. Such a process can be accompanied by various changes in the body of a pathological nature. As an independent disease, the syndrome of muscle hypotension can be found in rare cases.

Often, the pathology manifests itself almost immediately after the birth of the child. In the absence of proper treatment, this phenomenon can provoke disability.

This condition was first described in 1900.In most cases, the disease is a sign of any disorders in the nervous system. At the moment, there are more than one hundred diseases that have this symptom.

It should be noted that muscle hypotension can have not only an innate form, but also acquired.

2 Causes of

There are a number of factors that contribute to the onset of this disease:

• genetic disorders;
• disorders in the central nervous system;
• congenital forms of muscular disease;
• presence of some infectious diseases;
• craniocerebral injury of the baby, which occurred during childbirth;
• congenital pathology of connective tissue;
• disorders in the endocrine system;
• Rh-incompatibility of the child and mother;
• chromosomal abnormalities;
• rickets and hypovitaminosis;
• series of autoimmune pathologies.

Hypotension of this kind can also be provoked in children who have experienced intrauterine hypoxia or asphyxia during labor. However, in this case, the pathology does not carry a serious danger and usually passes during the first month of life.

Whatever the reasons listed above, each of them is a separate disease, so the therapy for diffuse hypotension should take place for a fairly long time.

It is this fact that psychologically affects the parents of a sick child, as in this case it is necessary to have patience and the desire to bring the treatment to an end in order to achieve positive results.

3 Symptoms of the disease

Muscular hypotension in children may be accompanied by various symptoms, depending on the degree of the disease and the stage of development. There may be slight lethargy or complete atony of the muscles. The musculature will be soft to the touch, in the joints you can often observe over-extension. In particular, this applies to the area of ​​the knees, elbows and wrists. When trying to start passively, a strong reduction in resistance occurs. Even the slightest suspicion of a disease should cause parents to worry, thereby prompting an immediate appeal to a specialist.

Often the hypotension of the muscles is accompanied by a decrease or a complete absence of unconditioned reflexes. In addition, active movements are subject to defeat. You can see an increase in tendon reflexes. As a result, the child is limited in the ability to take any pose.

In addition, feeding can also cause certain difficulties. In some situations, gastroesophageal reflux may develop. Its essence lies in the fact that after each feeding the contents of the stomach are transferred to the esophagus.

Clinical manifestations of the pathology are as follows:

• decrease in congenital reflectors, which are responsible for the infant's motor activity, in particular, crawling, resting on legs, grasping reflex;
• the inability of a child to lift limbs and keep them on weight for a while;
• respiratory and muscular insufficiency;
• as the child grows, there may be signs of emotional poverty in communication, there is no interest in toys and sweets;
• lag in motor development;
• inability to hold your head;
• crawl and stand on the legs is delayed.

All these symptoms, as they develop and worsen, should alert parents and draw attention.

4 Diagnostic techniques

In order for the treatment to be more effective, it is necessary to diagnose the disease in a timely manner in the child. For this purpose, the following examinations are carried out:

• First of all, a complete family history is collected.
• Specialist conducts a thorough examination of a sick kid, in which all reflexes should be checked.
• Computed tomography.
• MRI( magnetic resonance imaging).
• General and biochemical blood test.
• If necessary, the cerebrospinal fluid is examined.
• Electroencephalography.
• If there is a presumption of heredity, a genetic study is done.

To confirm the diagnosis and understand how much the pathology can be expressed, a biopsy of the muscles of the nerve fiber, which was susceptible to injury, is possible.

Only after carrying out all necessary examinations and obtaining the results, it is possible to correctly diagnose the disease and prescribe effective treatment.

To study the causes that led to the development of pathology, the topical diagnosis is used. This method lies in the fact that a detailed study is subjected to a specific place of development of the pathological process. In the presence of diffuse muscular hypotension, the following organs are examined:

• peripheral nerve;
• cerebellum;
• motoneuron in the spinal cord.

5 Directions of therapy

Hypotonus of muscles in children must necessarily be treated. The therapy should be comprehensive, and appointed by a specialist only after a complete examination based on the results.

Treatment in children involves the following activities:

• holding a massage;
• treatment exercises;
• taking baths with a tonic effect;
• physiotherapy;
• exercises with the ball;
• visit to the swimming pool.

Children of older age must be engaged in modeling, collect mosaic, play with fingers. This is what promotes the development of motor skills and makes the movements precise and coordinated. If necessary, the attending physician can recommend exercises with a speech therapist.

Medication is prescribed depending on the degree of severity of the disease. The choice of drugs and dosage in each case occurs individually. Often among medicines, nootropics, vitamins, neurometabolic drugs and vascular drugs are used.

During treatment, it is essential to observe the correct diet. It is important to remember that the body in sufficient quantity should receive vitamins and minerals. To make a diet, it is better to consult a dietician.

Therapeutic measures can be carried out both out-patient and at home. If the case is extremely severe, then the patient is on inpatient treatment.

Diffuse hypotension in children is a consequence of many deficiencies of an innate nature. Treatment is carried out with the help of a special reflex massage. With the proper diagnosis of pathology and timely treatment started, you can achieve positive results.