Pediatric hypotonia (floppy muscle syndrome)

What is pediatric hypotonia (floppy muscle syndrome)?

Hypotonia, also called floppy muscle syndrome, is a condition that involves the progressive loss of muscle tone over time. Some infants (birth to 1 year) are born with hypotonia, and some children develop hypotonia as a symptom of another condition.

What are the signs and symptoms of pediatric hypotonia (floppy muscle syndrome)?

• Delayed fine motor skills in children, such as grasping a crayon

• Delayed gross motor skills in infants, such as holding up head, sitting or crawling

• Feeding problems, such as trouble sucking or chewing

• Floppy muscles

• Frequent hip, jaw and neck dislocation

• Lack of head control as an infant

• Shallow breathing

• Speech delay and speech problems

What are the causes of pediatric hypotonia (floppy muscle syndrome)?

• Brain injury

• Cerebral palsy (CP)

• Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease

• Connective tissue disorders

• Down’s syndrome

• Ehlers-Danlos syndrome

• Encephalitis

• Hypothyroidism (congenital)

• Marfan syndrome

• Meningitis

• Muscular dystrophy

• Prader-Willi syndrome

• Prematurity

• Spinal cord injury

• Spinal muscular atrophy

• Tay-Sachs