Developmental conditions

My child has been diagnosed with low muscle tone. What does this mean?

An infant or child will get a diagnosis of low muscle tone when their muscles appear to be less firm than usual, appear to be floppy and to have loose joints and when the child appears to be less alert and have poor posture and attention.

The term generalized joint hypermobility (GJH) is used when a person has several joints that are more flexible than usual. This happens when the connective tissue which makes up the joint structures (capsule and ligaments) is more compliant (more easily stretched) than usual.

Many children with hypermobile joints have movement difficulties. Why is this and what can be done to overcome these difficulties?

Infants with joint hypermobility have joints that are able to bend further than usual and a trunk and limbs that appear to be floppy and weak.

The increased range of movement at the joints (sometimes called joint laxity or being double jointed) is due to differences in the connective tissue that forms the joint capsule and ligaments.

Many children with movement difficulties also behavior, emotion regulation and attention difficulties which impact on their function and participation at home and at school. These children often have a diagnosis of sensory processing disorder and receive sensory integration therapy.

About 6-8 % of children appear to be developing in the usual way yet seem to have difficulties with coordination and with learning new skills which affects their function and participation at home, at school and in the playground.

Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD) is the internationally accepted name for this condition.

Children with joint hypermobility and low muscle tone often complain of leg pain at night or after exercise. They also tend to suffer from growing pains. Pain can be prevented and alleviated by gentle and safe stretches that target the tight structures without stretching lax joint ligaments.

About 15-20 percent of children are born with a temperament style that is very cautious and often quite fearful. Elaine Aron coined the phase “highly sensitive child” for these children describing them as being very aware and quick to react to everything.

Children on the autistic spectrum often have difficulties with posture, coordination and motor planning. In fact recent studies show that movement difficulties are very common in children on the spectrum.

Many children with joint hypermobility (low muscle tone) have problems with flat feet. Flat feet are associated with leg muscle tightness, weakness, balance problems and rotational malalignment of the leg.

Some children with flat feet also experience pain with walking distances and running.

Poor sitting posture in a child with low muscle tone

Why children with joint hypermobility and low muscle tone wo have poor sitting posture, tire quickly and may fidget a lot when working at a desk. .

A more technical discussion of the use of the term low muscle tone as a diagnosis with a bibliography.

Idiopathic toe walking in children

There are a group of children who tend to walk on their toes some, if not all, of the time, despite there being no neurological or muscular condition that would commonly cause toe walking.

The medical term for habitual toe walking is idiopathic toe walking. (Idiopathic = arising spontaneously or from an obscure or unknown cause)

Children with joint hypermobility and low muscle tone often sit between their legs (known as W-sitting or M-sitting. This position imposes abnormal stresses on the hip and knee joints and tightness in hip muscles and tibial torsion which in turn cause hip and knee pain during and after exercise.

hypermobile child with poor standing posture

Children with movement difficulties (joint hypermobility, low muscle tone, ASD and developmental coordination disorder often have weak core muscle strength and stability, and poorly developed postural response mechanisms. This affects their posture in sitting and standing, as well as their gross motor skills.

Pigeon toes, an in-toeing gait, femoral anteversion and tibial torsion are different types of atypical torsional alignment of the thighs, knees and feet that occur in children, and are linked to bone growth as well as the strength, flexibility and coordination of the leg and foot muscles.

Developmental conditions

My child has been diagnosed with low muscle tone. What does this mean?

Joint hypermobility in children: what it is and how it affects fitness and motor skills

How hypermobility and low muscle tone affect your infant's development

SPD or poor emotion and attention regulation?

Developmental Coordination Disorder/ Dyspraxia

Night pain and growing pains in children with joint hypermobility and low muscle tone

The highly sensitive child and behavioral inhibition

Autism spectrum disorders and motor skills

Flat feet - not just a foot problem

My child can't sit up straight and fidgets a lot at school. What is the reason?

Rethinking low muscle tone - for therapists

Idiopathic toe walking in children

The trouble with w-sitting

Weak core muscles and poor core stability in children

Pigeon toes, in-toeing gait, femoral anteversion and tibial torsion

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