A newborn baby, having not had time to familiarize himself and get used to the new world for him, tends to be in the fetal position, with bent legs, arms clenched into fists, and head thrown back. But after 2-3 months, this behavior of the baby is no longer the norm. If the child is in the same tension as after birth, doctors often diagnose “hypertonicity.”

Hypertonicity in newborns is a fairly common phenomenon. Occurs in 9 out of 10 young children.

What is hypertonicity?

Being in the fetal position is considered normal for a baby who has just been born. Two to three months later, the baby’s movements become more active, and by six months his muscles are no longer so tense. But some children still have toned muscles. This deviation is called “hypertonicity”. In newborns, this condition is not a disease, but a signal of problems with the baby’s nervous system.

Diagnostics

In order to determine the presence of a problem, neurosonography is prescribed - an ultrasound examination of the brain. But it is not difficult for an experienced neurologist to notice deviations already at the first examination, a month after the baby was born. The child is prescribed therapeutic treatment. Muscle hypertonicity in newborns can be overcome without medications, with the help of therapeutic exercises, massage, swimming, and relaxing baths.

Signs

In addition to muscle tension, there are other symptoms of a condition such as hypertonicity. In newborns, signs indicating the presence of a problem can be detected by an attentive mother even in the maternity hospital. She just needs to pay attention to the position in which the baby sleeps and is awake, and how he moves. During sleep, such children throw their heads back and tightly squeeze their arms and legs. Attempts to separate them cause crying and resistance from the baby.

Babies with a similar problem sleep poorly, often burp, roll up when crying, throwing their head back strongly, you can notice a trembling chin, blue lips and nails. The baby is irritated by any sounds; he cannot even tolerate dim light.

You should not be happy if a child who is less than three months old begins to hold his head up. Hypertonicity of the cervical muscles in newborns is the reason for such activity. The same situation applies to early turns from back to stomach; normally, this should occur no earlier than four months.

You can try to find out if there is a problem when the child is awake. To do this, take it under the armpits, tilt it slightly forward and try to place it on the table. If there is hypertonicity, the baby leans on his tiptoes and tucks his toes, which is not observed in a healthy child who rests on his entire foot and tries to take steps. If the deviation is strong, the child’s legs will be crossed.

Hypertonicity in newborns leads to the fact that children with a similar problem lag behind in development: later they begin to hold their heads, sit, stand, and walk independently.

If the cervical spine, ligaments and discs were injured during childbirth, the child’s neck muscles remain tense for a long time, which leads to the development of torticollis. This is also a sign of muscle hypertonicity, and the earlier treatment begins, the greater the chances of success.

It is also necessary to pay attention to the gluteal folds; they will be uneven in a condition such as hypertonicity in newborns.

Causes

The main cause of hypertension in a newborn is a lack of oxygen during intrauterine development (fetal hypoxia). The problem can be caused by increased tone of the uterus during pregnancy, the presence of severe toxicosis in the first trimester, during the formation of all body systems of the baby, anemia, frequent illnesses of the mother during pregnancy, the presence of chronic diseases, incompatibility of the Rh factors of mother and father, rapid or too long periods of pregnancy. childbirth.

Treatment

Hypertonicity in newborns is not considered a disease. The mild form often goes away without treatment in many children. But with severe hypertonicity, treatment cannot be avoided, since the further development of the baby depends on it. Treatment of hypertension in newborns includes massage and gymnastics, herbal baths, and taking vitamins. Rare cases require drug therapy using diuretics that help reduce fluid in the brain, B vitamins, and nootropic drugs that improve blood supply to the brain. If the prescribed treatment does not produce results, additional examinations may be needed.

Massage

An effective way to help get rid of the problem is massage. Free procedures are carried out in many clinics, but if you work with the baby at home, the treatment will be more successful and faster.

Massage procedures should be carried out when the child is calm. If he cries, is nervous, or resists, then the activity will do more harm than good.

If the massage is carried out in a clinic, it is advisable to have several toys with you so that you can captivate the baby. The baby may be wary of unfamiliar surroundings and people.

The procedure lasts about 15-20 minutes, up to fifteen sessions will be needed, at least five times a week.

Before the massage, you need to use baby oil, lubricating the baby's skin with it.

The massage begins with gentle stroking, kneading the arms and legs, which become more intense. Attention should be paid to every finger on the hands.

The legs are massaged in the direction from the feet to the hips. Do not touch the joints and popliteal dimples, inner thighs, or groin area. Taking the baby's leg with your palm, bend and straighten it, draw figure eights on the feet, massage each toe. Then you can turn the baby over on his tummy and stretch his back and shoulders.

Every movement should be aimed at relaxation, the child should enjoy the process. If the massage is carried out correctly, after a while an improvement in the child’s condition will become noticeable.

Gymnastics

Exercises stimulate motor activity and certain reflexes. Here are examples of some of them:

• The baby is placed on his side, slowly stroking the back, moving in the direction from the buttocks to the neck. The touch should be very light.
• When pressing on the foot, the baby will bend his toes. If you stroke the outer surface, the baby's foot will straighten.
• You can raise the child’s legs up, perpendicular to the table, and spread them apart. The exercise is repeated 5 to 7 times.
• The child is placed on his stomach. Feet should hang off the table. The legs are straightened and the feet are stroked, moving from the heel down, finishing the exercise with gentle pressure on the leg.

Swimming

Everyone knows the ability of water to relax muscles. Therefore, after the baby is three weeks old, it is recommended to bathe him in a large bathtub. At this age, it will be easy for him to learn to swim both on his tummy and on his back. Swimming should be prescribed by a neurologist as a treatment.

What not to do?

For a healthy child, dynamic exercises are only beneficial, since this activates all body systems, as well as the nervous system. Such gymnastics will not benefit a child with hypertonicity.

As mentioned above, swimming helps to cope with the problem. But diving is not advisable, because it can become an additional burden on the baby’s nervous system.

You cannot use walkers or jumpers, as this will damage the baby’s pelvis and spine. In walkers, the load is distributed incorrectly, the child does not fully stand on the foot, straining the leg muscles, and this only worsens the problem.

If you notice warning signs in your baby, you need to consult a neurologist as soon as possible and, if necessary, undergo special examinations. Hypertonicity in newborns, the consequences of which can be very negative, is a condition that requires timely treatment. The sooner a deviation is noticed and treatment is started, the greater the chances of success.

Let's start with the fact that in children under the age of one year muscle tone physiologically (i.e. in the most natural way) is higher than in older children. In general, it is sometimes quite difficult for a doctor to determine whether this is the most increased muscle tone physiological, i.e. a variant of the age norm, or pathological, i.e. a symptom of some disease. In addition, for each specific baby there is an inherent muscle tone, and variability norms exceptionally high. I emphasize the norms! Those. according to the books, according to science, it seems to be a serious illness, but the most detailed examination reveals nothing and the child subsequently grows up completely normal. Why do doctors fuss and worry so much when they see non-standard (or not quite standard) increased muscle tone? First of all because increased muscle tone is a symptom of many very (!) serious diseases. For example: cerebral palsy, congenital anomalies of brain development, severe and prolonged asphyxia during childbirth (severe lack of oxygen), some inborn errors of metabolism accompanied by brain damage, and this list is far from complete. What is important. Having identified The child has increased muscle tone, the doctor understands perfectly well: this symptom should under no circumstances be ignored. However, any dangerous brain disease is distinguished by the fact that increased muscle tone- a typical symptom, but far from the only one. It is always possible to detect disturbances in general development, changes in reflexes, and much more. Serious changes are also revealed when additional research methods are carried out - ultrasound of the brain (neurosonoscopy), computed tomography. If ultrasound is normal, if general psychophysical development is normal, then increased muscle tone is considered as a variant of the norm.
Results: identification increase muscle tone requires very specific actions: a) comparison of this symptom with the general development of the child; b) conducting an examination. Further actions: a specific pathology is detected - we treat it. Everything is fine - we leave the child and his parents alone, although we observe them more often than other children - you never know. Summary: "Why is it dangerous? increased muscle tone in children up to a year?" All this is very similar to a briefcase standing alone in a subway car. It could be a bomb, or maybe some shabby engineer forgot it. Having discovered the briefcase, you should call specialists - let them sort it out: and this can be very, very serious , and maybe complete nonsense; - an absolute analogy with increased muscle tone!

Content:

• Child's tone
• Muscle hypertonicity
• Tone in a child's legs
• Massage for a child with tone
• Children's massage for hypertension

The concept of muscle tone in medicine is minimal muscle tension, remaining in a calm and relaxed state. Under external influences, muscles can tense or relax. One of these manifestations is often increased muscle tone in a child, resulting from any abnormalities. This increase in medical terminology is called hypertonicity.

All children have increased tone at birth. This physiological manifestation is associated with a long stay of the fetus in the mother’s womb. All this time, the chin and limbs were pressed tightly to the body. This condition of the unborn child was accompanied by severe muscle tension.

In the first months after birth, you need to especially carefully monitor the state of muscle tone. During this period, all deviations are most clearly manifested. If timely measures are not taken, the child’s gait and posture may be impaired in the future, and motor development may begin to lag. Therefore, parents should constantly observe and record all his movements and postures, without waiting for a visit to the pediatrician. The indicator of muscle tone in newborns is not only the basis for any movements. It accurately reflects the general condition of the baby, including his nervous system.

Increased tone in children is additionally defined as hypertonicity. In this state, the child often cries, shows anxiety, and sleeps poorly. He is irritated by any sounds or too bright light. Due to the tension of the neck muscles, the baby's head is held well from birth. He constantly presses his arms and legs, trying to bring them together. When trying to separate the limbs in different directions, noticeable resistance is felt. To accurately determine the pathology associated with the central nervous system, it is necessary to re-spread the child’s legs. If in this case there is an increase in resistance, it means that the muscles have increased tone. In addition, characteristic signs of hypertonicity are curling of the fingers and the desire to constantly lean on tiptoes. All these manifestations, one way or another, influence the development of abnormal gait and posture in the child in the future.

With hypertonicity, tension in the neck muscles is often observed. Muscle defenses are activated as a protective reaction to injuries received during difficult childbirth. Most often the head and spinal cord are affected. As a result, the activity of brain structures increases significantly, intracranial pressure increases, and the child becomes overly excitable. In the first five months, hypertonicity is not dangerous and is considered as a physiological manifestation.

The increased tone is most clearly manifested in the arms and legs. To check the presence or absence of tone in the legs, a fairly common method of walking on tiptoes is used. To do this, the baby is taken under the armpits and placed on his legs with a slight tilt forward. The surface must be level for the spontaneous gait reflex to be triggered. There is a movement of the legs, similar to real steps.

In a normal state, the child puts his foot down and tries to walk with his full foot, like an adult. With increased tone, the toes curl inward and try to stand on tiptoes. In this case, there is tension in the feet and muscles that perform flexion functions.

Increased tone of the thigh muscles is manifested in noticeable resistance during attempts to spread the legs in different directions. A healthy child does not react in any way to this procedure and allows his legs to be freely spread up to 90 degrees wide.

The formation of the baby’s posture occurs due to active muscle tone, which manifests itself physiologically until approximately 3.5 months. After this age, it begins to gradually decline. If signs of hypertonicity continue to persist for 6 months or more, you should definitely visit a pediatrician and a neurologist.

In order to eliminate the manifestations of increased tone, special massage techniques are used to promote effective muscle relaxation.

The massage should be carried out in certain conditions to make the child as comfortable as possible:

The baby massage technique includes general and private relaxation techniques. In the first case, relaxation of all muscle groups is ensured, and the techniques of the second option are aimed at relieving hypertonicity of the arms and legs.

Basic massage techniques for hypertension:

There are other techniques performed by massage therapists as prescribed by the pediatrician. With their help, it is possible to very effectively relieve increased muscle tone in a child and prevent the development of possible pathologies.

Hypertonicity is a violation of the muscle tone of the body, which is expressed in muscle overstrain. Almost all babies are born with severe muscle hypertonicity. After all, while inside the womb, the baby is constantly in the fetal position. The limbs and chin in this position are pressed closely to the body and the muscles of the fetus are constantly tense.

hypertension in children under one year old

Until about six months, the baby’s nervous system “learns” to work in conditions different from those in the womb. The baby gradually develops and slowly begins to control the movements of his muscles and skeleton. In a one-month-old baby, hypertonicity is very pronounced. This is reflected in clenched fists and bent legs, and in throwing the head back. The tone of the extensor muscles in a one-month-old baby is higher than the flexor muscles.

With physiological hypertonicity, the child’s legs move apart only 450 degrees each. When moving your legs away, you feel a pronounced resistance to movement. By three months, muscle hypertonicity in a child without pathologies practically disappears. If muscle tension persists after your child reaches six months, you should immediately consult a doctor.

Video:

Complications during pregnancy, birth injuries, Rh conflict, incompatibility of the blood of parents, residence in a poor environmental situation and many other factors will cause hypertension. It is worth paying close attention to the symptoms of hypertonicity, because this can be an expression of a serious neurological disease.

Signs of severe hypertension:

1. Restless and short sleep.
2. In the lying position, the head is thrown back, and the arms and legs are tucked.
3. When trying to separate the baby's legs or arms, strong resistance is felt. The child cries at the same time. Secondary dilution increases muscle resistance.
4. Vertically on a hard surface, the child tries to stand on the front part of the foot, that is, stands on tiptoes (Information: if the child walks on tiptoes).
5. When crying, the child throws his head back, arches, and at the same time his chin muscles tremble (See the article on chin tremor).
6. Frequent regurgitation.
7. Painful reaction to various stimuli: light, sound.
8. From birth, the baby “holds” his head due to constant tension in the neck muscles.

It is important to determine as early as possible that a child has hypertension. Finding at least one of the above symptoms in your baby is a good reason to contact a pediatric neurologist. The diagnosis of “hypertonicity” will be made if the flexion tone is higher than expected at a given age.

Muscle hypertonicity is determined by several reflex tests:

• Sitting by the hands: it is impossible to take the baby's hands away from the breast.
• Step reflex. When in an upright position, the child seems to be trying to take a step. Lasts after two months.
• Support reflex: a standing child leans on his toes.
• Preservation of asymmetric and symmetric reflexes after three months. When the child tilts his head to his chest while lying on his back, his arms bend and his legs straighten. When turning the head to the left in the same position, the left arm is extended forward, the left leg is extended, and the right leg is bent. When you tilt to the right, everything is repeated in a mirror image.
• Preservation of the tonic reflex after three months: lying on his back, the child straightens his limbs, and bends them on his stomach.

If by a certain age these reflexes do not weaken and do not disappear later, it means that the child has severe muscle hypertonicity. Therefore, it is necessary to consult a doctor.

More about newborn reflexes

Why is hypertonicity so dangerous if its occurrence is caused by the position of the fetus itself? Physiological hypertonicity disappears without a trace after three months. Pathological hypertonicity is caused by damage to brain tissue, which is responsible for the condition of the muscles. Such disorders occur with increased intracranial pressure, perinatal encephalopathy, increased excitability and other pathologies.

muscle hypertonicity

If, after three months, hypertonicity in children persists, the consequences, in the absence of treatment, are disastrous. Lack of regulation of muscle tone will affect the further development of the child:

• Impaired coordination of movements;
• Formation of abnormal gait;
• Incorrect formation of posture;
• Developmental delays, especially motor skills;
• Speech impairment.

It is especially dangerous if the child develops severe hypertonicity in the legs. It affects the rate of development of motor activity. Babies with this diagnosis later begin to crawl and walk. For children with hypertonic legs, the use of walkers and jumpers is especially contraindicated. These devices increase the state of tension in the muscles of the legs and spine due to the uneven distribution of gravity. The load increases specifically on the muscles of the pelvis and spine.

Hypertonicity of the arms is expressed in muscle resistance when moving the arms away from the chest and tightly clenched fists. This condition is most often observed with physiological hypertonicity. However, prolonged persistence of muscle tension should concern the child’s parents.

See video:

Correct and timely treatment of hypertension is carried out exclusively by a specialist doctor - a pediatric neurologist. All procedures are prescribed only by the attending physician. The sooner you start treatment, the better and faster the positive results will appear.

There are several techniques and directions in medicine that allow you to relieve hypertension:

1. Relaxing massage.
2. Physiotherapy.
3. Electrophoresis.
4. Paraffin applications (heat therapy).
5. Swimming.
6. Drug treatment.

As can be seen from the list, to remove hypertension, medications are used last. These are drugs that relax muscles, reduce muscle tone and diuretics to reduce brain fluid levels. In addition to the massage, dibazole and B vitamins may be prescribed.

Massage for hypertonicity can be done independently at home starting from two weeks of age. Naturally, you first need to consult with a specialist in children's massage and get instructions and recommendations for massage from him. A total of ten sessions are carried out, which are best repeated again after six months.

The massage consists of three types of influence techniques: stroking, rubbing and rocking:

1. With the back of your hand we stroke the surface of your arms, legs and back. You can alternate superficial stroking with your fingers with grasping stroking with the whole brush.
2. Circular rubbing of the skin. The baby is placed on his tummy and rubbed in a circular motion with his fingers using stroke movements from bottom to top. Then the same is done with the limbs, turning the child onto his back.
3. Take the baby's hand and shake it slightly. In this case, you should definitely hold your hand in the forearm area. Carry out the procedure with both arms and legs.
4. Take the baby by the arms above the wrist and rhythmically swing his arms in different directions.
5. Grab the child's legs by the shins and rock them.
6. Finish the massage by gently stroking your arms and legs.

If you have hypertonicity, you should not use deep muscle kneading, patting or chopping techniques. All movements should be smooth and relaxing, but rhythmic.

An excellent remedy for relieving hypertension are herbal baths. Water itself has a relaxing property, and in combination with herbs it becomes an excellent remedy for hypertension. Take turns for four days to take warm baths with valerian root, lingonberry leaf, motherwort and sage. A break is taken for one day, the procedures are repeated again, and so on for 10 days. Pine baths also have an excellent relaxing effect.

• Torticollis in newborns: treatment
• An infant arches his back and cries

What does increased tone in a child mean? Is massage effective? And what other methods of treating hypertension exist, we’ll talk below.

To talk about increased tone in a child as a disease, you first need to understand what hypertonicity is and at what age it is a problem and at what age it is normal. Increased muscle tension, expressed in their overstrain, is hypertonicity. If we look at the statistics, 90% of children have increased muscle tone. 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 pressed tightly against the body. Once born, the baby gains freedom of movement, so the baby’s muscle tone should return to normal.

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

Hypertonicity in a baby in the first month of life is most pronounced, which is clearly manifested in the general “tight state” of the child. The fists are clenched, the legs are pressed to the body, if you try to spread the legs, the baby will resist. In the supine position, the baby presses his arms to himself and lies in a position very similar to the fetal position. The folds on the legs should be symmetrical and, if you bring the legs together, form a smile. If, while lying on his stomach, the baby turns his head left and right, and seems to be trying to crawl with his legs, this is not a pathology and indicates normal development and moderate muscle tone of the baby. If, under the age of one month, a child often holds his head, this is most likely not a sign of his uniqueness and rapid development, but an overstrain of the neck muscles. Massage is effective for treating hypertension in a 1-month-old child.

A three-month-old child who confidently holds his head is characterized by the absence of hypertonicity. A baby at this age already reacts to toys, reaches out to them, and is able to grasp and hold objects in his hand. However, if some signs of increased muscle tone persist, do not be alarmed; each child is individual and you should wait a little and observe.

Increased muscle tone in a child should disappear by 6 months; if this does not happen at this age, you should see a specialist. A six-month-old baby is no longer the same incompetent as before; his movements are more conscious and purposeful. The fists unclench, the baby tries to crawl, rolls over on his back and from back to stomach, sits or tries to sit.

At nine months the baby is especially active, he stands near a support, crawls, and sits down. If a child has hypertension 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 his first steps. If hypertonicity is diagnosed in a child at this age, treatment in the form of massage and baths remains the same; if positive dynamics are not observed by one and a half years, additional diagnostics are prescribed and the treatment method is revised.

By the age of three, hypertonicity can manifest itself in walking on tiptoes rather than on the feet (in the case of increased tone of the legs) and impaired fine motor skills of the hands (in the case of increased tone of the hands).

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

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

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

• the presence of Rh conflict;
• bad ecology;
• severe pregnancy (infections and acute illnesses);
• fetal hypoxia during pregnancy or childbirth;
• hemolytic disease of the child;
• difficult childbirth and birth injuries;
• 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 the mother.

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

Depending on whether the tension in all the muscles of the child is increased, or whether the increased tone in the child affects only the limbs, or only the arms or legs, symptoms of hypertonicity are also distinguished. It is characterized by the following general symptoms:

• the baby sleeps anxiously and little, wakes up at the slightest discomfort or sound;
• the child often cries for no apparent reason and often demands the breast;
• It is difficult to separate the legs; the baby often cries and actively resists;
• the arms are tucked in, the head is thrown back;
• when crying, the chin trembles, and the baby throws back his head and arches his back;
• when holding the head, excessive muscle tension is observed;
• constant regurgitation after eating, possibly during feeding;
• refusal to eat.

Hypertonicity of the legs is characterized by slow motor development: the child does not crawl and does not begin to attempt to walk. In a standing position with your support, the child tries to walk on tiptoes without placing emphasis on the entire foot.

Clenched fists and difficulty in moving your arms to the sides when lying on your back indicate increased tone of the arm muscles. These symptoms serve as a basis for immediately contacting a doctor for diagnosis and treatment.

Another important method for diagnosing increased tone in a child is assessing reflexes. The results of this test can most accurately be assessed by a doctor. When visiting a local therapist, you can often notice testing based on the presence or absence of the following reflexes at a certain age of the baby:

1. The tonic reflex should fade by three months, but if this does not happen, then this may indicate the presence of hypertonicity. So the child, lying on his stomach, will bend his legs, and on his back, straighten them.
2. Upon reaching two months of age, the child may try to walk on his toes rather than on his entire leg (stepping reflex).
3. Symmetrical and asymmetrical reflexes should fade by three months. While lying on your back, if you turn your head to the left, your left arm and leg will straighten, and your right arm, on the contrary, will bend. When pressing your chin to your chest, lying on your back, bend your arms and straighten your legs.
4. When trying to sit the baby down, he won't let you move his arms away from his chest.

What to do if a child has increased tone? If, upon reaching the age of six months, the symptoms of increased muscle tone persist and a neurologist has diagnosed muscle hypertonicity, with proper treatment, the hypertonicity may disappear completely.

The main direction in the fight against hypertension is massage. The main purpose of massage is to gently relax tense muscles. Its significant advantage is accessibility. So, for preventive purposes, massage can be started as early as 2 weeks of age. The mother can act as a massage therapist, and the massage is turned into an interesting and exciting game with mandatory communication with a loved one. If massage is prescribed to children for medicinal purposes, it is better to entrust the procedure to a competent specialist. But do not forget about the very big advantage of a mother’s massage - this is a person close and dear, and it will be much easier for the mother to achieve relaxation and comfort for the baby. Therapeutic massage for a child aged 1 month and older is usually prescribed in a course; after completion of the course, the dynamics of the disease are assessed and, if necessary, the courses are repeated after a short rest.

Considering the small age of the patient, before the massage it is necessary to lubricate your hands with oil, since the skin of babies is very delicate and it is not difficult to damage it. Massage should not be done immediately after eating or after waking up; the child must come to his senses and be in a good mood. It is important to establish contact with the child, since massage against the will and with the child’s periodic crying loses its healing properties. All movements should be done smoothly, not abruptly, softly and gently. Minimal effort is enough; patting and deep kneading are unacceptable. If there is a negative reaction to your actions, it is better to stop the massage for children and eliminate the cause of dissatisfaction (it could be the cold hands of the massage therapist or low temperature in the room).

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 willing to let their legs be massaged than their arms. Therefore, it is important to determine the order for effective continuation of the massage. You need to be very careful with rubbing and not overdo it.
2. Using gentle rubbing movements, touch parts of the body from bottom to top. First, do this massage while lying on your tummy, then turn it over onto your back.
3. Shaking and rocking:

• Lightly shake your hands, be sure to hold your forearm, and shake your legs. If the baby is reluctant to do some exercises or resists, you can try to shake the limbs slightly and do this exercise; if the resistance does not decrease, move on to another exercise.
• Swing the arms in different directions, do the same with the legs, swinging the legs while holding them by the shins.

It is better to end the massage with light strokes to calm the excited baby. It is important to maintain contact with the child, talk kindly and encourage every successful exercise, step towards you, and in no case raise your voice.

Particular attention should be paid to foot massage if increased tone of the leg muscles is detected, since aggravation of the problem has a very negative effect on the acquisition of such an important skill as walking.

When massaging your legs, you should hold them by the shins and start stroking them from bottom to top, repeating the movements about eight times, then move to the back of the thigh. This is followed by soft rubbing with the fingertips in the same direction - from bottom to top. Lightly stroke the feet, moving from the toes to the heel. At the base of the big toe, you should press lightly, the fingers close together, then move along the outer part of the foot, the fingers spread out like a fan, repeat this several times. Next, you can “draw a figure eight” on the foot with your thumb. You can gently stretch your foot by applying gentle pressure with your thumb. Then you should stroke the area from the toes to the ankle joint, continue to gently rub this area, lightly pressing and touching.

After massaging your legs, you can do simple exercises. Taking the legs by the knees, bend them one by one, gently pressing on the tummy. This exercise is also useful for babies who are still bothered by gas. Having bent the legs at the knee joint, the knees are spread in opposite directions, and the feet are folded together, gently rubbing against each other. If the exercises are done correctly and gently, you will not only make progress in solving the problem of hypertension, but also give your baby much-needed communication with a loved one.

A bath, like a 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 an ingredient suitable for a particular baby in a course. If necessary, the bath cycle is repeated. In some cases, the herbs are alternated. An important aspect when prescribing a particular medicinal plant is the child’s individual tolerance.

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

1. Taking vitamin B, diuretics.
2. Therapeutic exercise, exercise using fitball.
3. Heat therapy.
4. Mud therapy.
5. Electrophoresis.

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

In addition to the treatment prescribed by a competent specialist, the care and psychological climate properly organized by the parents play an important role. Providing comfort in moral and everyday terms is the primary concern and task of parents.

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

In any case, no matter what method of treating hypertonicity is chosen, it is important to ensure comfortable treatment for the baby, since hypertonicity is increased muscle tension, therefore, in order to avoid it, you need to achieve relaxation.

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

If, nevertheless, a child is diagnosed with hypertonicity, and appropriate measures were taken untimely or not taken at all, this can lead to serious developmental deviations:

1. Delay in the child's motor activity. He starts crawling and walking late. Coordination of movements is impaired, incorrect gait and posture are formed.
2. With hypertonicity of the hands, fine motor skills suffer; the child is unable to grasp objects with his hands and cannot fully manipulate them.
3. Rachiocampsis.
4. Delay in general development (speech impairment), mental development.
5. Disruption of the internal organs of the child.

In the alternation of feeding, sleeping and playing the baby should not be much different from a healthy child. Moreover, the important task of parents is not to create additional tension and stress for him. You should not force your baby to a certain regime 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 it will tell you what it needs specifically now. If you force someone to stay awake or put you to sleep while crying, these actions will lead to aggravation of the problem, since any tension, including nervous tension, in this case is extremely undesirable. Also, you should not set a feeding schedule at a certain interval, because for a baby, mother’s breasts are not only nutrition, but also a way to relax, calm down and even fall asleep.

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

I hope that in this article you found all the information you were interested in and learned what hypertonicity is.

Normal muscle contractility ensures the harmonious physical and mental development of the child. Muscle tone in a baby can be physiological and pathological. Physiological conditions include increased muscle tone in the first weeks after birth. Next, the tone should return to normal. If a child still has increased muscle tone two weeks after birth, this phenomenon is called hypertonicity and belongs to the category of pathological conditions.

Hypertonicity of the muscles of a newborn is an understandable phenomenon. Inside the womb, the child was in a constrained state. His limbs were tightly pressed to his body, there was no room for movement.

After birth, the baby's body gradually gets used to new conditions. During the first two weeks, the muscles gradually relax, and the limbs return to a new state. However, if the baby has central nervous system lesions of varying severity, the brain will not be able to fully control muscle activity. In this case, the condition of the muscles will deviate from normal.

The persistence of hypertonicity during the first month of life should be a reason to examine the child by a neurologist.

The following development of the situation is considered normal.

1. First month of life. The child often assumes a fetal position, presses bent limbs to the body, turns his head to one side or the other while lying on his stomach, without keeping it raised, and also makes characteristic pushing movements with his legs.
2. Third month. The child is able to keep his head raised while lying on his stomach, can turn it in different directions, confidently stretches his arms and holds objects placed in his palm.
3. Sixth month. The baby's palms are completely open. The child can turn to his side, roll over onto his stomach, lift his body, leaning on straight arms and open palms, and attempts to crawl and sit down.
4. Ninth month. The child moves actively - crawls, sits, stands with support.
5. Year. The child walks with support, stands independently, and takes the first steps without support.

Pathology can be suspected from birth. Problems with the central nervous system are often expressed in muscle hypertonicity syndrome. In such children, all movements are constrained, the abduction of the lower extremities is no more than 45 degrees. The arms and legs are firmly pressed to the body, and the fingers cannot be unclenched.

Hypertonicity syndrome interferes with the further development of the child, the formation of joints and ligaments is disrupted. Persistence of the condition can lead to impairment of motor skills, motor activity, and the formation of the spine and posture.

If after the first month of life the baby’s muscle hypertonicity persists, in the future he will have the following signs.

1. The child behaves restlessly, sleeps poorly, wakes up in less than an hour and often cries.
2. The baby spits up profusely after every meal.
3. During sleep, the child arches his back and throws his head back. This is a characteristic feature of hypertonicity. At the same time, his arms and legs are bent and pressed to the body.
4. During a tantrum, the child is tense and bends. In a nervous state, trembling of the chin is noted.
5. The baby is able to hold his head upright from birth.
6. When you spread your legs to the sides, you feel strong muscle tension. When you try again, the tension increases. The child resists and protests with a cry.
7. In an upright position, the baby does not rest his entire foot on the surface, but stands on his toes.

Existing signs of hypertonicity should prompt parents to seek advice from a neurologist.

During the examination, the doctor identifies the presence or absence of certain reflexes in the child and their compliance with the age norm.

1. Walking reflex. In an upright position, the baby tends to take steps. Normally, this ability disappears after 2 months of age.
2. Symmetry of reflexes. When lying on the back, the baby's chin is pressed to the chest. At the same time, the behavior of the limbs is observed - bending of the arms and straightening of the legs should occur. When the head is tilted to the right, there is straightening of the limbs on the right side and tension on the left. When you turn your head in the other direction, everything happens exactly the opposite. This reflex should disappear after 3 months.
3. Ability to tone. While lying on his stomach, the baby should tuck his limbs. Lying on your back relaxes your arms and legs. After three months the ability disappears.
4. When examining a newborn, the doctor places the baby in his arm, face down. In this position, the baby should experience contraction of the arms and relaxation of the legs. Under normal conditions, the head and back should extend into one line.

Parents can detect symptoms on their own. If a violation is suspected, they should consult a doctor.. A neurologist will be able to determine the presence or absence of a diagnosis and establish its type.

Muscle tone can be either increased or decreased. Sometimes there is an imbalance - a combination of the first and second. In other words, increased muscle tone in the arms and decreased tone in the lower extremities may be present at the same time, or vice versa. This symptom is called dystonia.

With asymmetry, muscle hypertonicity occurs only on one side. This condition is also called torticollis. The child is placed in a prone position and examined from the back. With asymmetry, the head is turned towards that half of the body where hypertonicity appears. On the same side, there is a bend in the back and tension in the arms.

Hypotension is also considered a disorder. This phenomenon has the opposite symptoms of hypertonicity and manifests itself in lethargy and impaired motor activity.

Muscle hypertonicity and hypotonicity may not appear systemically, but in individual parts of the body. In this case, there is a decrease or increase in muscle tone only in the arms, legs or back.

Violation of muscle tone is not an independent disease, but indicates other, more serious pathologies of the nervous system. That is why the symptoms of hypertension should not be ignored. If the syndrome is detected, the child must be thoroughly examined. In this case, an ultrasound of the brain is performed, and in rare cases, a tomogram.

The causes of damage to the central nervous system can lie both in problems associated with pregnancy and in complications during childbirth.

List of possible causes of central nervous system damage in a child that causes impaired muscle tone:

• infectious diseases of the mother during pregnancy;
• improper lifestyle of a pregnant woman;
• taking medications by the mother during pregnancy;
• Rh conflict between the expectant mother and fetus;
• injuries received by the child during childbirth;
• genetic incompatibility of parents;
• unfavorable environmental situation.

The presence of these factors can only indirectly confirm the presence of a symptom of hypertonicity in a child.

Treatment should be aimed not only at correcting muscular dystonia, but also at identifying and eliminating the underlying cause that caused the condition.

When treating muscle tone disorders, non-drug methods are primarily used:

• massage techniques;
• water procedures (bathing in herbal infusions of valerian, motherwort, sage, excluding diving);
• gymnastic exercises, with the exception of dynamic gymnastics;
• physiotherapy;
• osteopathic techniques.

When prescribing medications, those that can improve cerebral circulation, improve metabolic processes and reduce muscle tension are selected.

Minor violations may hide serious reasons. The harmonious development of the child should extend in all planes. A deviation in one area may lead to a violation in another area. Alarming symptoms of changes in muscle tone should not be ignored. During the examination, the doctor will be able to determine in which direction to move next, what examination and treatment the child may need.

Often young parents are faced with a problem that is incomprehensible to them.

Despite the fact that their baby is fed on time and surrounded by care and attention, he cries a lot, is capricious and is clearly not in the best mood.

The reason for this behavior may be muscle hypertonicity. Excessive muscle tension creates discomfort. Knowing the symptoms of this disorder, it is not difficult to identify it.

To do this, you just need to carefully observe the child for some time and perform simple manipulations.

Perhaps, the main signs indicating hypertension are restless behavior and nervousness, when the baby cries, the chin trembles. Symptoms of increased muscle tone also include:

• Periodic intense regurgitation.
• Restless and short-term sleep, the child wakes up with the slightest noise.
• The characteristic positions that children take when sleeping are their heads thrown back, legs and arms connected. If you try to separate the limbs, with hypertonicity the baby will resist and may wake up and cry.
• The child throws his head back and arches his whole body when he cries.

You can carefully take the baby under the arms, lower his legs to the floor and tilt his torso slightly.

A child who feels well will place his entire foot on the floor, but with muscle hypertonicity he will touch the floor with his toe.

Similar reactions occur in completely healthy children, and only a pediatric neurologist can definitively diagnose hypertonicity.

Experts point to several possible causes of muscle tension: hemolytic disease of the baby, incompatibility of blood groups or Rh factors, malfunctions in the baby’s nervous system.

Pathologies of the nervous system, in turn, can be caused by:

1. Chronic intoxication of a woman during pregnancy due to illness.
2. Constant tension in the muscles of the uterus during pregnancy.
3. In cases where pregnancy occurred simultaneously with treatment of acute infectious diseases.
4. Threatened miscarriage, difficult pregnancy.
5. Labor that is too long or too fast.
6. Intense toxicosis in the first or last stages of pregnancy.
7. Poisoning of the fetus as a result of smoking and drinking alcohol by a pregnant woman.
8. Hypoxia of the child’s brain during childbirth or pregnancy.
9. Chronic diseases of the mother.
10. Improper execution of the incision during caesarean section.

Conditions for massage

Massage should be carried out after a doctor’s prescription in the comfort of your home. The temperature in the room should be at least 25 degrees, the air humidity should be normal.