hypotonia always a sign of something else?

[Bena]

My nephew has been "diagnosed" as hypotonic (low muscle tone). He is waaay behind in his gross motor skills, but fine in terms of language and fine motor skills. He will be going through several tests in the next few months.

From the reasearch I've done hypotonia seems to be a symptom of something else, and MD seems to pop up alot. God I hope that's not the case.

Can hypotonia be a "stand alone" situation (by that I mean not attached to any disorder or syndrome)? Does it necessarily mean problems for life?

[JavaJunkie]

My DS7 was hypotonic, with significant gross and fine motor delays, when he was an infant and toddler. He went through genetic and neurological testing, and came up clear. Yes, some kids can be hypotonic with no underlying disorders.

[APToddlerMama]

My son is two and has hypotonia (and several other issues/developmental delays). My husband had a diagnosis of hypotonia as well as a child. He excelled in sports as a high schooler and is a totally normal, functioning adult. Some people say that hypotonia doesn't exist without other issues, some think it can. Whatever the case, it is completely possible that your nephew would end up just like my husband and have no visible signs of problems as he develops.

[Bena]

thank you for your replies and sharing your stories! I knew I could come to this community! I must admit, my internet researches were pretty grim.
I'm hoping for the best for him!
Our family situation is a little awkward because this week, by learning to push herself up in a sitted position and trying to stand on furniture, DD, 8 months, has surpased my nephew's physical skills (he is 15 months old). I know this is ridiculous, but it makes me feel "extra" guilty about what is happening with him.

[loraxc]

My DS was pretty severely hypotonic and borderline failure to thrive as an infant. We had a lot of testing done and doctors were quite concerned, but everything came up totally clean. At about 11 months, he started to improve a lot, and now, at 2, he still has very hypermobile joints but is otherwise indistinguishable from his peers. He actually crawled at 11 months and walked at 12.5! This after not being able to sit up till 9 months. It was nutty.

He has no other delays (never did). I still worry a little that we may be missing something, but so far, so good. HIs sister also tends towards hypotonic.

[laohaire]

I think hypotonia is a symptom so I think there's something underlying - but that's just my opinion; it's not settled in the medical field.

At the same time, that doesn't necessarily mean anything severe. My daughter is mildly but noticably hypotonic. She's fine. I don't think she'll ever be the captain of a contact sport team but that's no big deal. I don't know what has caused the hypotonia; I assume it's something metabolic but very mild (and thus unstudied). We're ok with that

[sbgrace]

My son's doctor (genetics--he has a metabolic condition) told me that he believes there is always something underlying hypotonia. Often metabolic but those conditions aren't even all known. And in truth it doesn't always matter.

My son has a metabolic condition finally discovered at 3.5. But I realized when he was doing evaluations for gross motor delay that I was hypotonic too! And I had a healthy, happy, normal life. Hypotonic kids are more likely to be less coordinated on average as kids/adults. I don't really think there is anything else that's set in stone. I probably have my son's same condition but much milder. It's all ok. (Oh, my son was not otherwise healthy except for hypotonia).

It is hard to see other kids pass yours or was for me anyway. There is nothing you can do about that of course but it's good that your sensitive to the situation.

Google is not your friend in this sort of thing--really it's not. The serious underlying issues are going to present in ways beyond just hypotonia.

[loraxc]

Also, you may want to ask your families if anyone else might be hypotonic. My brother and my father both seem to be mildly hypotonic as well, and my father thinks my grandfather may have been. This was something doctors asked us, so we asked about it, and we did get "Well, actually..." answers that I did not expect. The doctors were pleased to hear that other people seemed to have this issue but did not present with any other health conditions (indeed, my father is 72 and in extremely good health).

I actually notice the hypotonia more in my DD than my DS these days. At 6, she cannot ride a bike without training wheels, is still working hard to learn to swim, and is definitely not strong athletically. I notice that it takes her more effort to swing a bat or kick a ball than seems normal for her age, and she is a slow runner. These things do bother her a little, but she is still an active child.