Increased tone in a child: causes, symptoms and treatment. Massage for children with hypertonicity

What does increased tonus in a child mean? Is massage effective? And what other methods of treating hypertonicity exist, we will talk below.

To talk about the increased tone in the child, as a disease, first you need to understand what hypertonicity is and at what age is the problem, and at what rate is the norm. Increased muscle tension, expressed in their overstrain, is hypertonicity. If we turn to statistics, then in 90% of babies muscle tone is increased. This condition is quite normal for a child in the womb. In the position inside the uterus, the baby is in a compressed state, where the arms and legs are bent and firmly pressed to the body. Having been born, the baby gets freedom of movement, so the baby's muscle tone should return to normal.

Age features

This condition does not pass immediately, gradually, and as the baby grows and acquires certain motor skills, hypertonicity disappears.

Hypertonicity in infants in the first month of life is most pronounced, which is well manifested in the general "clamped state" of the child. Cams are compressed, legs are pressed to the body, if you try to part the legs, the baby will resist. In the supine position, the baby presses the arms to itself and lies in a pose very similar to the embryo's pose. The folds on the legs should be symmetrical and, if you bring the legs together, form a smile. If in the supine position , the baby tosses his head left and right, and as if trying to crawl with his legs, this is not a pathology and indicates normal development and moderate muscle tone of the crumbs. If the child often holds his head up to one month old, this is more likely not a sign of his uniqueness and rapid development, but an overstrain of the neck muscles. Effective for the treatment of hypertension in a 1 month old baby massage.

For a three-month-old baby, confidently holding the head, the absence of hypertonus is characteristic. The kid at this age already reacts to toys, pulls pens to them, is able to grab and hold objects in his hand. However, while maintaining some signs of increased muscle tone, do not be scared, each child is individual and should wait a bit and watch.

An increased muscle tone in a child by 6 months should disappear, if this did not happen at this age, it should be seen by a specialist. A six-month-old baby is not that unlucky as before, his movements are more conscious and focused. Fists are unclenched, the baby tries to crawl, rolls onto his back and from back to stomach, sits or makes attempts to sit.

At nine months, the baby is especially active, he stands near the support, crawls, sits down. In the presence of hypertonicity in a baby at this age, massage is especially effective in eliminating it, since the main purpose of massage is to relieve muscle tone.

The one-year-old baby is already trying to take the first steps. In the case of diagnosing hypertonicity in a child at this age, the treatment in the form of massage and baths remains the same, if positive dynamics is not observed by one and a half years, additional diagnostics are prescribed and the treatment procedure is reviewed.

By the age of three, hypertonicity can result in walking not on the foot, but on tiptoe (in case of increased tonus of the legs) and impaired fine motor skills of the hands (in case of increased tonus of the arms).

By the age of five, increased muscle tone can be a real problem. A child of preschool age begins to lag behind in development from peers, in some cases it may become the basis for establishing disability. Learning at a school with peers becomes difficult and often such children have to study at special educational institutions.

Thus, early detection of muscle hypertonicity allows you to effectively choose health measures and eliminate increased tone. Therefore, it is especially important to pay attention to the symptoms of hypertension in a timely manner, which greatly increases the chances of recovery.

Causes

The causes of hypertonicity in a child can be very diverse, ranging from a genetic predisposition to ending with birth injuries. However, despite the individuality of each case, there is a certain number of factors that often cause increased muscle tone. These include:

• the presence of a Rhesus conflict;
• bad ecology;
• severe pregnancy (infections and acute illnesses);
• fetal hypoxia during pregnancy or childbirth;
• hemolytic disease of the child;
• heavy birth and birth injury;
• the presence of bad habits in a pregnant woman;
• excessive nervous excitability;
• severe toxicosis of the mother in the first or last trimester of pregnancy;
• chronic diseases of mom.

One way or another, an increased muscle tone in a child is not a pathology at birth, but if any of the above factors are present, muscle tone may not return to normal over a long period of time.

Signs of hypertension

Depending on whether the tension of all the muscles in the child is increased, or the increased tone in the child covers only the limbs, or only the arms or legs, the symptoms of hypertension are also distinguished. The following general symptoms are characteristic of it:

• the baby sleeps anxiously and little, wakes up at the slightest discomfort or sound;
• the baby often cries for no apparent reason, often requires a breast;
• it is difficult to part the legs, the baby often cries and actively resists;
• handles are tightened, head is thrown back;
• when crying, the chin trembles, and the baby throws back his head, arches his back;
• when holding the head, excessive muscle tension is observed;
• constant regurgitation after eating, possibly during eating;
• refusal of food.
  

With hypertonicity of the legs, slower motor development is characteristic: the child does not crawl, does not start trying to walk. In a standing position with your support, the child tries to tiptoe without focusing on the whole foot.

Compressed fists and difficulty in raising the arms to the sides when lying on their backs indicate increased muscle tone in the hands. These symptoms serve as the basis for immediate medical attention for diagnosis and treatment.

Reflex tests

Another important method for diagnosing increased tonus in a child is to evaluate reflexes. The results of this test can most accurately be evaluated by a doctor. When you visit a local therapist, you can often notice testing precisely by the presence or absence of the following reflexes at a certain age of the baby:

1. The tonic reflex should fade away by three months, if this did not happen, then this may indicate the presence of hypertonicity. So the child lying on his stomach will bend the legs, and on the back, straighten them.
2. Upon reaching two months of age, the child may try to walk, standing on toes, and not on the whole leg (step reflex).
3. Symmetric and asymmetric reflexes should fade away by three months. In the supine position, if you turn the head to the left, the left hand and leg are straightened, and the right hand, on the contrary, is bent. When pressing the chin to the chest, lying on the back, the arms are bent and the legs are bent.
4. When trying to put the baby, he does not allow to take his hands away from the chest.

Treatment

What to do with an increased tone in a child? If, after reaching the age of six months, the symptoms of increased muscle tone have persisted and the neuropathologist has been diagnosed with muscle hypertonicity, with proper treatment, hypertonicity may disappear completely.

Hypertonic Massage

The main focus in the fight against hypertension is massage. The main goal of massage is gentle relaxation of tense muscles. A significant advantage is accessibility. So for preventive purposes, massage can begin to be done already from 2 weeks of age. Mom can act as a masseur, and massage is turned into an interesting fascinating game with the obligatory communication with a loved one. In the case of the appointment of massage for children for therapeutic purposes, it is better to entrust the procedure to a competent specialist. But do not forget about the very big advantage of mom massage - this is a close and dear person, and it will be much easier for mom to achieve relaxation and comfort for the baby. Therapeutic massage for a child from 1 month and older, as a rule, is prescribed by the course, after the end of the course, the dynamics of the disease is evaluated and, if necessary, the courses are repeated after a short rest.

Given the patient’s small age, it is imperative to lubricate the hands with oil before the massage, as the skin of the babies is very delicate and it can be easily damaged. Massage should not be done immediately after eating or after waking up, the child should recover, be in good mood. It is important to establish contact with the child, since the massage, contrary to the will and with periodic crying of the child, loses its healing properties. All movements must be done smoothly, not abruptly, gently and gently. Minimum effort is enough, slams and deep kneading are unacceptable. In the case of a negative reaction to your actions, it is better for children to stop the massage and eliminate the cause of dissatisfaction (it can be the masseur’s cold hands or low temperature in the room).

Massage manipulations

They can be divided into:

1. Stroking and rubbing. It is better to start with stroking movements of the arms and legs, moving to the back. As a rule, babies are more likely to massage their legs than their hands. Therefore, it is important to determine the sequence for the effective continuation of massage. With grinding, you need to be very careful and not overdo it.
2. By rubbing with soft movements, touch parts of the body in a direction from the bottom up. First, do such a massage, lying on your tummy, then turn it on its back.
3. Shaking and wiggling:

• Shake hands lightly, always holding the forearm, shake the legs. If the kid gives some reluctance to do some exercises, resists, you can try to shake the limbs slightly and do this exercise, if nevertheless the resistance does not decrease, go to another exercise.
• Shake the hands in different directions, do the same with the legs, shaking the legs holding them by the shin.

Finish the massage better with light strokes to calm the agitated baby. It is important to maintain contact with the child, to speak kindly and to encourage each successful exercise, step towards you, and in no case to raise your voice.

Particular attention should be paid to leg massage when detecting an increased tone of the leg muscles, since exacerbating the problem has a very negative effect on the acquisition of such an important skill as walking.

When massaging the legs, you should hold them by the lower legs and begin to stroke them from the bottom up, repeating movements about eight times, then go to the back of the thigh. Then follow soft rubbing with the fingertips in the same direction, from bottom to top. Easily stroke the feet, moving from the fingers to the heel. At the base of the thumb, you should gently press, fingers close together, then draw along the outer part of the foot, fingers straighten “fan”, so repeat several times. Then with your thumb you can “draw a figure eight” on the foot. You can gently stretch your foot by gently pressing your thumb. Then you should stroke the area from the fingers to the ankle joint, continue the soft grinding of this area, gently pressing, touching.

Having done massage of the legs, you can do simple exercises. Taking the legs by the knees, they alternately bend them, gently pressing on the tummy. This exercise is also useful for toddlers who are still worried about gas jets. Having bent the legs in the knee joint, the knees are bred in opposite directions, and the feet are folded together, gently rubbing against each other. If you do the exercises correctly and gently, you will not only advance in solving the problem of hypertonicity, but also give the baby such necessary communication with a loved one.

Soothing bath

The bath, like massage, has a relaxing effect on the muscles, with the addition of herbs such as eucalyptus, lavender, motherwort, sage, valerian, conifers, the relaxing effect of the bath is enhanced. As a rule, a bath is prescribed by a doctor with the addition of a course suitable for a particular baby. If necessary, the bath cycle is repeated. In some cases, the herbs alternate. An important aspect in the appointment of a medicinal plant is the individual tolerance of the child.

Appropriate care

Also, for the treatment of muscle hypertonicity in children, the following measures can be effective, aimed at relaxing and reducing muscle tone:

1. Reception of vitamin B, diuretics.
2. Physiotherapy exercises, using fitball.
3. Heat treatment.
4. Mud therapy.
5. Electrophoresis
   

Drug treatment is prescribed only in cases where more gentle measures do not lead to a positive trend. In most cases, a timely diagnosis and following the doctor’s instructions give positive results without the need for medical intervention.

In addition to the treatment prescribed by a competent specialist, an important role is played by the care properly organized by the parents and the psychological climate. Ensuring moral and domestic comfort is the primary concern and task of parents.

• It is important to exclude physical activity, which creates additional tension of the muscles that are in high tone.
• The psychological climate in the family, a favorable and friendly atmosphere allows the baby to be relaxed, calm and does not lead to nervous tension.
• The creation of a favorable atmosphere in the child’s relaxation room, the absence of irritants in the form of loud sounds, bright light, acceptable air temperature and permissible humidity are important.

In any case, no matter what method of treatment for hypertonicity is chosen, it is important to provide a comfortable treatment for the baby, since hypertension is an increased muscle tension, therefore, to avoid it, you need to achieve relaxation.

What is the danger of hypertonicity?

The main problem in eliminating hypertonicity in infants is the initially incorrect approach of parents to this problem. Due to the fact that in newborns hypertension is the norm (due to being in a tight position in the womb), many parents do not pay due attention if this condition is prolonged, and consider it to be quite normal and physiological. We remind you that the state of increased muscle tone should normally pass by three months, if this does not happen by six, this is an occasion to consult a doctor.

If, nevertheless, a child has hypertonicity, and appropriate measures were taken late or not taken at all, this can lead to serious developmental disabilities:

1. Lag in the motor activity of a child. He starts crawling late, walking. The coordination of movements is disturbed, an incorrect gait, posture is formed.
2. With hypertension of the hands, fine motor skills suffer, the child is not good at grabbing objects with his hands, he cannot fully manipulate them.
3. Rachiocampsis.
4. Lag in general development (speech impairment), mental development.
5. Violation of the internal organs of the child.

Child's regimen with hypertonicity

In the alternation of feeding, sleeping and playing, the baby should not be much different from a healthy baby. Moreover, an important task of parents is not to create additional stresses and stresses for him. Do not force the baby to a certain regimen that is inconvenient for him. The child’s body itself is able to determine when it wants to sleep, when to eat, when to play, so be careful and he will tell you what he needs right now. In the event that you will forcefully stay awake or put to sleep through crying, these actions will aggravate the problem, since any, including nervous, tension in this case is extremely undesirable. Also, you should not set the feeding regimen at a certain interval, because for the baby, mother’s breast is not only nutrition, but also a way to relax, calm down and even fall asleep.

The most important tool in the fight against hypertension is the attention of parents. No doctor spends as much time with your child as mom or dad spend, who are able to catch alarming symptoms almost immediately and take action. After all, the sooner you deal with this issue, the faster and more effective the results will be noticeable.

I hope in this article you have found all the information you are interested in and found out what hypertonicity is.