HypotoniaSymptoms, Doctors, Treatments, Advances & More
Hypotonia Overview
Learn About Hypotonia
Hypotonia means decreased muscle tone.
Decreased muscle tone; Floppy infant
Hypotonia is often a sign of a worrisome problem. The condition can affect children or adults.
Infants with this problem seem floppy and feel like a "rag doll" when held. They rest with their elbows and knees loosely extended. Infants with normal tone tend to have flexed elbows and knees. They may have poor head control. Their head may fall to the side, backward, or forward.
Infants with normal tone can be lifted with the adult's hands placed under the armpits. Hypotonic infants tend to slip between the hands.
Muscle tone and movement involve the brain, spinal cord, nerves, and muscles. Hypotonia may be a sign of a problem anywhere along the pathway that controls muscle movement. Causes may include:
- Brain damage, due to lack of oxygen before or right after birth, or problems with brain formation
- Disorders of the muscles, such as muscular dystrophy
- Disorders that affect the nerves that supply muscles
- Disorders that affect the ability of nerves to send messages to the muscles
- Infections
Genetic or chromosomal disorders, or defects that may cause brain and nerve damage include:
- Down syndrome
- Spinal muscular atrophy
- Prader-Willi syndrome
- Tay-Sachs disease
- Trisomy 13
Other disorders that can lead to the condition include:
- Achondroplasia
- Being born with hypothyroidism
- Poisons or toxins
- Spinal cord injuries that occur around the time of birth
Take extra care when lifting and carrying a person with hypotonia to avoid causing an injury.
Your health care provider will do a physical exam including a detailed exam of the nervous system and muscle function.
In most cases, a neurologist (specialist in brain and nerve disorders) will help evaluate the problem. Geneticists may help diagnose certain disorders. If there are also other medical problems, a number of different specialists will help care for the child.
Which diagnostic tests are done depends on the suspected cause of the hypotonia. Most of the conditions associated with hypotonia also cause other symptoms that can help make the diagnosis.
Many of these disorders require ongoing care and support. Physical therapy may be recommended to help children improve their development.
Laurence Faivre practices practicing medicine in Dijon, France. Mr. Faivre is rated as an Elite expert by MediFind in the treatment of Hypotonia. He is also highly rated in 111 other conditions, according to our data. His clinical expertise encompasses Cohen Syndrome, Achalasia Microcephaly Syndrome, Microcephaly, Hypotonia, and Orchiectomy.
Bertrand Isidor practices practicing medicine in Nantes, France. Mr. Isidor is rated as an Elite expert by MediFind in the treatment of Hypotonia. He is also highly rated in 68 other conditions, according to our data. His clinical expertise encompasses Achalasia Microcephaly Syndrome, Microcephaly, Hypotonia, and Cortical Dysplasia.
Office
Carsten Bonnemann is a Pediatric Neurologist practicing medicine in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Dr. Bonnemann is rated as an Elite provider by MediFind in the treatment of Hypotonia. He is also highly rated in 20 other conditions, according to our data. His clinical expertise encompasses Tubular Aggregate Myopathy, Congenital Fiber-Type Disproportion, X-Linked Myotubular Myopathy, Hypotonia, and Gastrostomy.
Summary: MYT1L syndrome is a rare genetic syndrome, recently described in 2011, with paediatric onset, responsible for a neurodevelopmental disorder combining psychomotor retardation, learning difficulties and/or intellectual development disorders, epilepsy, overweight and eating disorders. The Rouen genetics department is currently positioned as a clinical expert in this disease. The study published in 20...
Summary: Neurodevelopmental disorders (NDD) encompass conditions that impair cognitive and/or emotional development in children, significantly impacting school, social, and family life. They are often linked to genetic causes and, in most cases, lack curative treatment. Among these disorders, monoallelic variations in the CTNNB1 gene cause a rare syndrome known as NEDSDV (Neurodevelopmental disorder with s...
Published Date: October 27, 2025
Published By: Anna C. Edens Hurst, MD, MS, Associate Professor in Medical Genetics, The University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL. Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network. Also reviewed by David C. Dugdale, MD, Medical Director, Brenda Conaway, Editorial Director, and the A.D.A.M. Editorial team.
Barkoudah E. Encephalopathies In: Kliegman RM, St. Geme JW, Blum NJ, et al, eds. Nelson Textbook of Pediatrics. 22nd ed. Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier; 2025:chap 638.
Burnette WB. Hypotonic (floppy) infant. In: Jankovic J, Mazziotta JC, Pomeroy SL, Newman NJ, eds. Bradley and Daroff's Neurology in Clinical Practice. 8th ed. Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier; 2022:chap 30.
Manzur AY. Evaluation and investigation of neuromuscular disorders. In: Kliegman RM, St. Geme JW, Blum NJ, et al, eds. Nelson Textbook of Pediatrics. 22nd ed. Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier; 2025:chap 647.