P94: Disorders of muscle tone of newborn

P94.1: Congenital hypertonia

Muscles are made up of many long cells. These cells form the muscle fibers. Muscle fibers can contract and tense, but also relax again. As the individual muscle fibers tense and relax, the tension in the muscle as a whole changes.

There are various reasons why the baby has had too much muscle tone since it was born. It may be caused by various disorders or pathogens or by a lack of oxygen, for example. After the birth, there can be a variety of indications that there is too much muscle tone.

When there is too much muscle tone, the child may keep its arms and legs more bent than usual. The arms and legs might seem stiff, and the child may move about less than is normal. The child's reflexes may also be stronger than usual. A reflex is a response by the body to a stimulus. This response can be a muscle movement, for example.