Hypotonia (hy-poh-TOH-nee-uh) means decreased muscle tone. Even at rest, healthy muscle keeps a small amount of tension that gives it a springy feel and some resistance to movement. With hypotonia, that baseline tone is reduced, so the muscles feel soft or floppy. Hypotonia is not the same as muscle weakness, although the two can occur together, and it can point to a problem anywhere along the pathway that controls movement, from the brain and spinal cord to the nerves and muscles.
A Name That Does Too Much Work
Jean-Martin Charcot's name appears throughout medicine, but nowhere does it create more confusion than in the foot. Learn why the CMT foot and Charcot neuroarthropathy, also known as Charcot foot, share a name yet differ in how they develop, appear, and are managed.
