RT Book, Section
A1 Ege, Elizabeth L.
A2 Davenport, Todd E.
A2 Kulig, Kornelia
A2 Sebelski, Chris A.
A2 Gordon, James
A2 Watts, Hugh G.
SR Print(0)
ID 1133839389
T1 Weakness and Hypotonia in a Child
T2 Diagnosis for Physical Therapists: A Symptom-Based Approach
YR 2013
FD 2013
PB McGraw-Hill Education
PP New York, NY
SN 9780803615281
LK fadavispt.mhmedical.com/content.aspx?aid=1133839389
RD 2024/04/25
AB The  terms  weakness  and  hypotonia  are  often  used  interchangeably  even  though  they  have  very  different  meanings.  Weakness  is  the  absence  of  strength,  the  inability  to  exert  a  force  to  resist  movement,  and  the  absence  of  power  or  the  inability  to  exert  a  force  to  change  position.1,2  Hypotonia  is  a  state  of  decreased  muscle  tone,  which  is  defined  clinically  as  the  resistance  felt  to  externally  imposed  movements  in  a  state  of  voluntary  relaxation.3  At  rest,  the  muscle  is  in  a  state  of  partial  relaxation  that  requires  energy  for  its  full  contraction  or  further  muscle  relaxation  and  concurrent  contraction  of  its  antagonistic  muscle  to  elongate.4  It  is  common  for  weakness  and  hypotonia  to  occur  together;  however,  it  is  possible  to  have  hypotonia  in  the  absence  of  weakness  and  it  is  dependent  on  its  cause.  This  chapter  describes  possible  causes  of  weakness  and  hypotonia  in  a  child.