Increased tonus in the child: causes, symptoms and treatment. Massage for children with hypertension

What does increased tonus in a child mean? Is massage effective? And what other methods exist for treating hypertension, let's talk below.

To talk about the increased tone of a child as a disease, first you need to figure out what hypertonicity is and at what age it's a problem, and in what age it's a norm. The increased muscle tension, expressed in their overstrain, is hypertonic. If you turn to statistics, then 90% of kids muscle tone increased. This state is quite normal for a child who is in the womb. In the position inside the uterus the child is in a compressed state, where the arms and legs are bent and pressed tightly to the body. Having appeared in the light, the baby gets freedom of movement, so the muscle tone of the baby should come back to normal.

Age features of

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

Hypertonus in infants in the first month of life is most pronounced, which is well manifested in the general "clamped state" of the child. The jaws are compressed, 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 the handles and lies in a pose very similar to the embryo pose. The folds on the legs must be symmetrical and, if you bring the legs together, form a smile. If in the prone position on the abdomen, the toddler turns his head to the left and to the right, and as if trying to crawl with his legs, this is not a pathology and speaks about the normal development and moderate tone of the muscles of the crumbs. In the case if at the age of up to one month the child often keeps his head, rather it is not a sign of his uniqueness and rapid development, but an overstrain of the neck muscles. Effective for the treatment of hypertension child 1 month of massage.

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

The increased muscle tone in a child by the age of 6 months should disappear, if this did not happen at this age, it should be shown to a specialist. The six-month-old kid is no longer the ineptitude that before, his movements are more conscious and purposeful. The cams are unclenched, the baby tries to crawl, turns over on his back and from the back to his stomach, sits or makes attempts to sit.

At nine months the kid is especially active, he stands near the pedestal, crawls, sits down. In the presence of hypertonia in a child at this age, massage is especially effective in its elimination, since the main purpose of the massage is to relieve muscle tone.

One year old baby is already trying to make the first steps. In the case of diagnosis of hypertension in a child at this age, treatment in the form of massage and baths remains the same, if the positive dynamics are not observed by a year and a half, additional diagnostics are prescribed and the method of treatment is revised.

By three years, hypertension can be expressed in walking not on the foot, but on tiptoe( in case of increased leg tone) and violation of fine motor skills( in case of increased tone of the hands).

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

Thus, early detection of muscle hypertonicity allows you to effectively select the health measures and eliminate the 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.

Causes of

Causes of hypertonicity in a child can be very different, from genetic predisposition to trauma. However, despite the individuality of each case, there are a number of factors that, often, cause increased muscle tone. These include:

• presence of Rh-conflict;
• is a bad ecology;
• severe pregnancy( infection and acute diseases transferred);
• fetal hypoxia during pregnancy or during childbirth;
• hemolytic disease of the child;
• severe birth and birth injury;
• the presence of bad habits in pregnancy;
• excessive nervous excitability;
• severe maternal toxicosis in the first or last trimester of pregnancy;
• chronic diseases of the mother.

Anyway, the 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 come back to normal for a long period of time.

Symptoms of hypertonia

Depending on whether the tension of all muscles in a child is increased, or if the tonus is elevated in the child, only the limbs or only the arms or legs, distinguish the symptoms of hypertonia. The following general symptoms are typical for him:

• the baby sleeps anxiously and little, wakes up at the slightest discomfort or sound;
• the child often cries for no apparent reason, often requires a breast;
• to breed legs is difficult, the baby often cries and actively resists;
• knobs are pinched, the head is thrown back;
• when crying, his chin trembles, and the kid throws back his head, arching his back;
• , when the head is held, excessive muscle tension is observed;
• constant regurgitation after eating, possibly, and during nutrition;
• refusal of food.

Hypertension of the legs is characterized by slow motor development: the child does not crawl, does not begin to make attempts to walk. In a standing position with your support, the child tries to walk on tiptoes, not focusing on the entire foot.

The clenched jaws and the difficulty in raising the handles to the sides in the supine position on the back indicate an increased tonus of the muscles of the hands. These symptoms serve as the basis for immediate contact with a doctor for diagnosis and treatment.

Reflex tests

Another important method of diagnosing an increased tone in a child is the evaluation of reflexes. The results of this testing can be most accurately estimated by a doctor. When you visit a local therapist, you can often notice the testing is due to the presence or absence of the following reflexes at a certain age of the baby:

1. The tonic reflex should fade to three months, but if this did not happen, this may indicate the presence of hypertonia. So the child lying on his stomach will bend the legs, and on the back, straighten them.
2. After reaching the age of two months a child can try to walk, becoming on fingers, and not on the whole leg( step response).
3. Symmetric and asymmetrical reflexes should fade to three months. In the supine position on the back, if you turn the head to the left, the left arm and leg are straightened, and the right arm, on the contrary, bends. When pressing the chin to the chest, lying on the back of the arm to bend, and legs to straighten.
4. When trying to put the baby on, he does not let go of his chest.

Treatment of

What should I do if my child has an increased tonus? If, after reaching the age of six months, the symptoms of increased muscle tone are preserved and the doctor-neuropathologist was diagnosed with hypertension of muscles, with the appointment of the right treatment, hypertonicity can disappear completely.

Massage with hypertonia

The main direction in the fight against hypertension is massage. The main goal of the massage is a gentle relaxation of tense muscles. Its significant advantage is accessibility. So, for preventive purposes, massage can be started from the age of 2 weeks old. As a masseur, mother can act, and massage is turned into an interesting and fascinating game with compulsory communication with a loved one. In the case of the appointment of massage to children for therapeutic purposes, the procedure is best entrusted to a competent specialist. But do not forget about the very great advantage of massage mom - it's a person close and native, and to achieve relaxation and comfort for the baby mom will be much easier. Therapeutic massage for a child of 1 month and older is usually prescribed by the course, after the course is over, the dynamics of the disease is evaluated and, if necessary, the courses are repeated after a short rest.

Given the patient's small age before the massage, it is absolutely essential to lubricate the hands with oil, since the skin of the babies is very tender and it is not difficult to damage it. Massage should not be done immediately after a meal or after awakening, the child must recover, be in good spirits. It is important to establish contact with the child, since the massage, contrary to the will and with the periodic crying of the child, loses its healing properties. All movements need to be done smoothly, not abruptly, gently and gently. Enough minimal effort is unacceptable, claps and deep kneading. In case of a negative reaction to your actions, massage the children is better to stop and eliminate the cause of discontent( this can be the cold hands of a massage therapist or a low temperature in the room).

Massage manipulations

They can be divided into:

1. Strokes and rubbing. It is better to start with the stroking movements of the hands, legs, turning to the back. As a rule, babies are more willing to massage their legs than hands. Therefore, it is important to determine the order for effective continuation of the massage. With rubbing you need to be very careful and do not overdo it.
2. Rubbing soft movements touch parts of the body from the bottom up. First, do such a massage, lying on the tummy, then turn over on the back.
3. Shaking and wiggling:

• Lightly shake hands, always holding your forearm, shake your legs. In the event that some exercises allow the child to do reluctantly, resists, you can try to slightly shake the limbs and do this exercise, if the resistance does not decrease, go to another exercise.
• Shake the knobs in different directions, do the same with the legs, shaking the legs holding them by the shin.

To finish the massage, it's better to light strokes to calm the agitated kid. It is important to keep in touch with the child, to talk gently and encourage each successful exercise, step forward to meet you, and in no case raise your voice.

Special attention should be paid to the massage of the legs when an increased tonus of leg muscles is detected, since the aggravation of the problem has a very negative effect on the acquisition of such an important skill as walking.

When the legs are massaged, hold them by the shins and start stroking from the bottom upward, repeating the movements about eight times, then moving to the back of the thigh. Then follow the soft rubbing of the pads of the fingers in the same direction-bottom-up. Easily stroked feet, moving from the fingers to the heel. At the base of the thumb you should gently press, fingers close, then hold on the outside of the foot, the fingers will be straightened "fan", so repeat several times. Then with your thumb you can "draw a figure eight" on the foot. You can gently stretch the foot, gently pressing with your thumb. Then it is necessary to stroke the area from the fingers to the ankle joint, continue soft rubbing of this area, gently pressing, touching.

After doing massage of the legs, you can do simple exercises. Taking the legs behind their knees, alternately bend them, gently pressing on the tummy. This exercise is also useful for toddlers who are still bothered by the ghazi. Bending the legs in the knee joint, the knees are bred in opposite directions, and the feet are folded together, gently rubbing each other. If the exercises are done correctly and gently, you will not only advance in solving the problem of hypertonia, but give the kid such necessary communication with a loved one.

Soothing bath

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

Appropriate care

Also for the treatment of hypertonic muscles in children the following measures aimed at relaxation and reduction of muscle tone can be effective:

1. Admission of vitamin B, diuretics.
2. Physiotherapy exercises, exercise with the use of fitball.
3. Thermotherapy.
4. Mud treatment.
5. Electrophoresis.

Drug treatment is prescribed only in cases where more sparing measures do not lead to positive dynamics. In most cases, the timely diagnosis and adherence to prescriptions of the doctor give positive results without the need for medication.

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

• It is important to exclude physical exertion, creating an additional muscle tension, which are in increased tone.
• The psychological climate in the family, a favorable and friendly environment allows the baby to be relaxed, calm and does not lead to nervous tension.
• It is important to create 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.

In any case, no matter what method of treatment for hypertension is not chosen, it is important to provide comfortable treatment for the baby, since hypertonus is an increased muscle tension, therefore, to avoid it, you need to achieve relaxation.

What is the danger of hypertension?

The main problem in eliminating hypertonicity in infants is the parents' wrong approach to this problem. In view of the fact that in newborns, hypertension is the norm( due to being in a close position in the womb of the mother), many parents do not pay due attention in the event that such a state is delayed, and consider it quite normal and physiological. We remind you that the state of increased muscle tone should normally go to three months, if it does not happen to six, it's an occasion to call a doctor.

In the event that a child has hypertonicity and proper measures were not taken in time or not taken at all, this can lead to serious developmental deviations:

1. Lag in the motor activity of the child. He starts to creep late, to walk. The coordination of movements is disturbed, incorrect gait, posture is formed.
2. With hypertension of the hands, minor motor skills suffer, the child is not able to grasp objects with hands, he can not fully manipulate them.
3. Curvature of the spine.
4. Lag in general development( speech disturbance), mental development.
5. Violation of the internal organs of the child.

Child mode with hypertonus

In the alternation of feeding, sleeping and playing the baby there should not be any differences from a healthy child. Moreover, an important task for parents is not to create additional stresses and stresses for them. It is not necessary to force a child to a certain regime, uncomfortable for him. The child's body is able to determine when 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 forcibly keep awake or put to bed through crying, these actions will lead to an aggravation of the problem, since anyone, including nervous tension, in this case is extremely undesirable. Also, do not set the mode of feeding at a certain interval, because for a baby, the mother's breast is not only food, but also a way to relax, calm down and even fall asleep.

The most important tool in the fight against hypertonia is the attention of parents. No doctor spends as much time with your child as a mom or dad, who is able to catch alarming symptoms almost immediately and take action. After all, the sooner we tackle this issue, the faster and more efficient the results will be.

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