How to massage a baby yourself from tone. Massage and children's gymnastics for muscular dystonia

12.08.2019

A child is born with physiologically increased muscle tone. Therefore, in the first weeks, he takes an intrauterine position, bending the limbs and bringing them to the body. This condition is natural, does not cause inconvenience to the baby and gradually disappears.

But it so happens that the muscles of the newborn are constantly overly tense, and this affects the well-being and behavior of the child. This condition is called hypertonicity. It is most often detected during a routine examination by a pediatrician or neurologist. Usually, drug treatment and massage are prescribed for newborns with hypertension, often supplemented by physiotherapy.

Causes and manifestations of hypertonia

Pathology in an infant can be the result of different conditions:

the consequences of intrauterine hypoxia (lack of oxygen) against the background of maternal diseases or pathologically proceeding pregnancy;
intrauterine infections;
the consequences of chronic fetal poisoning during smoking or alcoholization of a pregnant woman, taking certain medications;
pathological jaundice of newborns - for example, with hemolytic disease after Rh-conflict pregnancy;
the consequences of birth trauma during natural childbirth or caesarean section.

Hypertonia is a neurological pathology. It can be unilateral and bilateral, and is a symptom of problems at the cervical level or in the brain.

An infant with muscle hypertonia is usually restless, easily aroused, and when crying, his chin and spread fingers on his hands may tremble. A mother may notice that it is difficult for her to spread the baby's legs when changing a diaper, it is difficult to unbend the fists for cutting nails. With an asymmetric tone, a different range of motion in the limbs is visible, there may be a turn of the head in one direction. In the supine position, the child throws the head back. And during a reflex walking test, he rests on his toes, and not on the entire foot.

A child with hypertension usually pleases parents with their early achievements. He begins to hold his head earlier than his peers, already in the first month of life he can accidentally roll from his stomach to his side, with chaotic movements sometimes even crawls a short distance along the changing table.

If signs of hypertonicity are detected, the doctor will give recommendations, which necessarily include a relaxing massage.

Preparing for massage

Therapeutic massage for a newborn with hypertension is usually carried out in several courses by an experienced massage therapist. But a mother can do a simple massage every day on her own, gradually improving the condition of her child.

The key to the success of a relaxing massage at home is to keep your baby calm. After all, when crying, muscles tighten, which means that there is no question of any relaxation. Therefore, massage should be performed when the child is full, complacent and does not want to sleep.

A changing table, a regular table with a blanket, or other flat surface is suitable for massage. The room should be at a comfortable temperature. If the massage is performed with music, it is best not to use the radio, so as not to scare the child when the volume suddenly changes or when advertisements are turned on. Recording of pleasant melodies, sounds of nature will do.

Before the massage, an adult needs to wash and warm his hands, remove rings and bracelets. You can lubricate your hands with a little sterile oil or baby cream, but this is optional.

Massage technique

Massage for newborns with hypertonicity includes a general relaxing effect and methods for relieving tension in individual flexor muscles. Massage movements consist of stroking, piston rubbing, squeezing, shaking. They do not cause discomfort to the child and at the same time help to reduce the tone. You can not do tapping, vibration, patting and sawing-chopping rubbing.

The session is started with the child on the back. At the beginning of the massage, smooth warming general strokes are carried out on the arms, legs, body. Such movements are not abrupt, directed along the axis of the body, capture several areas at once and resemble the actions when rubbing in cosmetics.
By gradually increasing the pressure, you can add upward diagonal movements to the hips and shoulders. This will help warm up large muscle groups better. In this case, it is impossible to influence the front and side of the neck, inguinal folds and the inner part of the thighs, armpits, popliteal fossa and patella.
Turning the baby over on his stomach, you need to stroke his back. Only a specialist can massage the cervical muscles, you should not do it yourself!
After that, you can start the "rocker" and "cradle" exercises. Bringing her hands alternately under the upper back or under the pelvis, the mother gently rocks the baby, as in a cradle. And for the "swing" it is necessary to securely grab the child by the armpits and swing from side to side. These are general relaxing methods.
The next step is limb massage. They usually start with pens. The fists are unbent, each finger is rubbed towards the palm, as if gloves are being put on. The palm and the base of the thumb are rubbed in a circular motion.
The forearm can be massaged with piston movements by holding the handle like in a ring and moving back and forth. They can be alternated with crimps, in which a moderate circular compression of the limb is done. All joints are also gently flexed and extended. In this case, you cannot make sharp or strong movements.
Finish the massage with gentle strokes and shaking. To do this, the handle is lifted by the palm of the hand and, holding the area of the wrist joint, and gently shaken. Sharp sweeping movements in the joints should not be allowed, the amplitude of shaking should be small.

The same plan is used to massage the legs, rising from the feet to the thighs. A figure eight is drawn on the sole, the outer arch of the foot and toes are rubbed well. For shaking, the leg is held by the heel, gently fixing the ankle.

In medicine, there is the concept of muscle tone, which is a small muscle tension present in a state of relaxation and calmness.

When there is an impact from the outside, the muscles relax and tense. One of the reasons for these symptoms is mainly the increased muscle tone of children, which manifests itself as a result of certain deviations. Such increased tone in medicine is also called hypertonicity. The main method of treatment and prevention is massage of a child with a tonus.

The tonus of the baby.

When a child is born, he generally has an increase in tone. These are purely physiological signs that are associated with the fact that the child was in the mother's tummy for a long time. While the baby is in the womb, his arms, legs, chin are firmly pressed to the body. In this state, the muscles of the fetus are quite tense. And this happens throughout the pregnancy.

When a child is born, it is necessary to carefully monitor the tone of his muscles. This is done from the very first days of a newborn's life. Right now, you can notice all the anomalies that arise quite brightly. If measures are not taken in time, gait and bearing are disturbed as a result, the child lags behind in the development of movements. Thus, the primary task of parents is to systematically observe and record all children's postures and movements. And you don't have to wait until it's time to visit a doctor. Muscle tone in children, its indicator is not only the basis of various movements. With the help of such an indicator, the whole state of the child is reflected, as well as his nervous system.

Muscular hypertonicity.

When there are frequent tantrums, he is restless, sleep is disturbed. Every sound and bright light is annoying. Since the occipital muscles are tense, already at birth the child holds his head well. The baby's legs and arms are constantly tightening, he seems to be trying to bring them together. And when you want to dissolve them, there is a feeling of resistance. To accurately determine the pathology that is associated with the nerves, you should once again push the baby's legs. If he strongly resists, therefore, muscle hypertonicity is present. Also, a distinctive feature of hypertonicity is the pressing of the fingers and the desire to rise on toes. This all affects the spine and gait of the baby in the future. Tense neck muscles are quite often observed, resulting in tension in the head and back. As a result, there are very active brain structures, an increase in intracranial pressure occurs, the child is very excited. Up to six months, hypertonicity is not dangerous, it's just physiology.

Tonus in the legs.

Mainly, hypertonicity is noticed in the legs and arms of the baby. To check the tone in the legs, the child is taken under the arms and put on his feet, slightly tilted forward. It is necessary to put the baby on a flat surface. The child begins to stomp like an adult. If tone is present, then the baby stands on tiptoe.
If there is tone in the hips, then when the legs are pulled apart, there is a strong resistance. If the child is healthy, then there is no reaction from him to such actions, he freely allows all this to be done. If such signs persist even at six months, then it is recommended to contact a neurologist and pediatrician.

Massage for a child with muscle tone

To get rid of the manifestations of increased muscle tone, it is necessary to do a special massage that relaxes the muscle tissue.

The furnishings should be comfortable:

Ventilated room;
Massage table;
Clean hands;
The procedure is performed after a meal in 40 minutes;
It is advisable to use a powder, cream;
The child should be calm;
The massage is done for five minutes, and after three months it increases to ten minutes.

The massage technique includes muscle relaxation.

From the first days of newborns' life, physical activity is a powerful factor in their development. In every child up to 3 months, a sharp hypertonicity of the limb flexors can be observed. They are gradually balanced by antagonist muscles.

Through gymnastics and massage, muscles relax and extensors develop. At home, it is necessary to independently move the baby, associated with extension, to stimulate and use innate reflexes:

food: sucking, swallowing, salivation;
protective and defensive reflexes: raising the head in a prone position and turning;
vascular and reflexes of position (postures);
location of body parts;
balance (cervical and labyrinthine);
in infants 2.5-3 months - the foot crawling reflex.

Touching the child's skin irritates these reflexes, so a response appears: the corresponding muscles contract. In the very first days and months of newborns' life, it is advisable to use reflexes for extension, so as not to strengthen the flexors, the tone of which already prevails. It is recommended to perform a general massage for infants with hypertension.

Massage technique for hypertonicity

Usually, the massage is performed on the baby in the morning after the bowel is emptied or before feeding in the afternoon. The massage room should be ventilated and the warmest, temperature - 20-22˚С. The baby can be laid on a regular changing table, on which a blanket, oilcloth and diaper are laid. It should also be borne in mind that newborns quickly freeze, so a heated diaper should be at hand.

Hands should be clean, dry and warm, without long nails and rough calluses, rings, watches, bracelets, etc. Baby massage oil or glycerin is used for massage. Petroleum jelly or moisturizer are not suitable because they can contaminate your baby's skin and clog pores.

Since the hypertonicity of the flexors of the extremities is pronounced in newborns, the masseur should relax these muscles as quickly and effectively as possible.

To carry out active movements, congenital reflexes are taken into account: protective and musculocutaneous, mainly extension, movement of the flexor muscles is avoided. The flexors must be relaxed with stroking techniques.

The sequence of stroking movements in the position of the child on the back:

pens;
legs;
laying out on the stomach;
back;
tummy;
feet - rubbing;
reflex exercises for the feet;
extension of the spine (reflex) on the right and left side;
laying out on the stomach, crawling (reflex).

Every day, babies need to be bathed in warm water. During the procedure, you need to communicate with them, which will cause positive emotions in the baby. If the child is naughty and crying, he needs to be reassured and distracted.

The massage starts from the shoulders, directing the movements to the hands and fingers, as well as from the foot to the groin. For newborns, massage is performed for 5 minutes, from 3 months - 7 minutes, over 4 months. - 10 min.

With hypertonicity in infants, massage is also performed with techniques that relax the whole body, as well as techniques that relax the arms and legs.

General relaxation is performed by exercises: "swing" and "cradle":

exercise "swing": babies are gently taken under the armpits and gently swing the body to the right and left;
exercise "cradle" to relax the upper or lower body: the upper cradle - the babies are laid on the table and put their hands under the head and back, swinging to the right and left, up and down; lower cradle - hands are placed under the back and bottom of the buttock and swing as described above.

To relax the arms, stroking is performed to improve circulation, relax muscles, and relieve pain. A thumb is put into the baby's palm, stroking the handle with the other hand, slowly moving the fingers to the wrist from the shoulder, repeat 4-5 times.

Newborns like the embryo position, like in the mother's belly. This position can calm even the most whiny child. To do this, clasp the feet and palms with one hand (the thumb of the hand in the palm of the child), the second hand supports the head and gently tilts it to the chest. Slow swinging is carried out.

To perform stroking of the legs, it is placed on the palm and with the free hand, massage manipulations are performed with the palm: the inner and back surfaces

To relieve hypertonicity, massage of the arms and legs of infants continues with piston rubbing. The handle or leg is between the palms, which are moved back and forth. This is how the muscles of the legs are trained. To strengthen the joints, rub the feet and knees, then draw a figure eight on the sole and smoothly stroke the leg and around the knee joint. Repeat 4-5 times.

The nervous system is strengthened with light pressure and massage of the toes and heels. The nerve endings concentrated on the foot affect the functioning of the whole organism.

According to the sequence of the massage, the child is laid out on his stomach and the back is stroked, then again turned onto his back and the tummy is massaged.

Hands need to be lubricated with oil and first stroke the stomach from the sides, then clockwise along the intestines. You can't press hard! The massage will soothe the baby and activate digestion, which is just beginning to improve in the newborn.

To quickly overgrow the umbilical cord when massaging the abdomen, a finger bent at the joint is carried around the navel 5-6 times.

In the presence of colic, the tummy is easily massaged by alternating hands from the ribs downward. You need to grab your legs with your right palm and hold them raised for 1-3 seconds. The left palm is massaging the tummy. The baby's legs are bent at the knees and pressed to the stomach. Repeat 3-4 times a day.

Compressing movements of the arms or legs can also cope with hypertonicity, for this they clasp the limb with their hands and make light pressure. Another technique for hypertonicity is shaking the limbs, then stroking.

They carry out prophylaxis against dysplasia and relieve the hypertonicity of the legs by breeding them. The child is laid on the back, the legs are bent at the knees and pressed to the stomach. Then carefully spread them apart. After 5-6 repetitions, the child is turned on his stomach and the exercise is repeated. Thus, the nuclei of the hip joint develop and form and dysplasia is excluded.

The massage for hypertonicity is completed by exercises on the ball. Babies really like it. The child is placed on a large ball with his stomach and gently swayed in all directions. When rocking forward, you need to make sure that the child does not hit his head on the table. On the ball, the baby will learn to hold his head tighter and lean on the handles.

Massage of infants with hypertonicity - video

Features of muscle tone in children are due to the fact that the baby spends the first 9 months of life in a cramped womb. His little body is located compactly, is in a state of constant tension - hypertonicity. Often with such indicators, a baby is born, and relaxation and tension in different tissues is different - not always adequate.

Untimely recognition of problems that have arisen with muscle tone is fraught with physical and mental lag in the development of the baby. This is due to the close connection between motor activity and the cerebral cortex. To avoid negative health consequences, doctors prescribe a massage for a child with a tone that does not correspond to the norm. It helps to bring the condition of tissues to a level adequate for age. After all, the younger the child, the more pronounced the tone. It becomes the same as in adults only by the age of two.

Muscle tone disorders in children requiring massage

After birth, the baby should be examined by a neurologist right in the hospital. He will be the first specialist to notice abnormalities and show how to massage a newborn with an inappropriate tone. However, this is not always possible at an early stage. Moreover, the muscle tone of the child increases with screaming, anxiety, crying. It directly depends on factors such as:

Constitutional features of the baby.
Physiological condition.
Excitability of the central nervous system.
The volume of movements performed.

When visiting a pediatrician overseeing the development of the baby, the mother needs to consult about the possibility of prescribing a massage for the child, tell about her health during the gestation process. Violations of the tone of the crumbs can occur due to:

Complex course of pregnancy.
Features of presentation of the fetus.
Placental insufficiency.
Method of childbirth.
Stress.
Woman taking medication.

All this influences the state of muscle tissue tone of the born child. In case of violations, it can be:

Increased.
Reduced.
Asymmetric.

Massage with tonus in babies is prescribed in all three cases. The ideal option is to attend a specialist procedure. However, if it is impossible to do this, parents can ask the pediatrician to show them the manipulations and perform them themselves. Prescribed massage complexes depend on:

Degrees of violations.
The state of health of the child.
Development level.
The presence of contraindications.

That is why, if you suspect the development of pathology, you should not self-medicate, but you should immediately consult a doctor.

Massage for newborns with hypertension

The increased muscle tension of the crumbs has rather bright external manifestations. Newborns with this disorder:

Massage for babies with hypertonicity is done to relieve excess stress. It runs like this:

The baby is placed on the back. With light movements of fingers, palms, the surface of the arms, legs, back of the baby is stroked.
The baby rolls over onto the tummy. The body is rubbed in a circular motion from the bottom up, limbs. The crumb is placed on the back, the same is repeated.
The arms and legs shake slightly, then they sway (these manipulations are very effective if the child is massaged with hypertonicity of the legs and arms)
Handles held by the wrists and legs sway.
The procedure ends with smooth stroking of the whole body.

The course consists of 10-15 sessions every month.

Massage for children with hypotonia

A child with reduced muscle tension gives his parents almost no trouble. It differs in:

Stone calm.
An infrequent manifestation of crying.
Constant sleep.
Spreading the limbs in different directions, extending them at the joints by more than 180 degrees.
Difficulty sucking, swallowing.
Inhibited development of motor skills.

Massage with hypotension in a child is carried out with the aim of activating and stimulating the muscles. Its main feature is the direction of movement: from the periphery to the center. The following manipulations are performed:

The child is on his back.
Put your finger in the palm of the baby. While holding it, stroke the handle from wrist to shoulder. Massage with kneading movements, except for the area of the joints. Repeat 3 times.
Place your palm under the back of the baby's head, nudge the head so that it bends towards the chest. Do it 10 times.
Massage the child's upper body in a circular motion. Move from the shoulders to the middle of the chest. Repeat three times.
Turn the little one over on the tummy. Press on the back with your thumbs 3 times (from the buttocks to the neck).
Holding the baby behind the back, bend the leg at the knee at an angle of 90 degrees to the body. Massage with kneading movements 3 times.
Return the baby to the back to remove the hypotonia there. Bend the leg at the knee joint, clasping the lower leg with the other hand, work out the muscle by kneading.
Take the child's foot in the palm of one hand, and stretch the other from the heel to the fingertips. Do 4 reps.

Massage with low muscle tone in infants lasts no more than a quarter of an hour. It should start and end with strokes. The toddler should not be tired, as the result will be completely opposite.

Massage with uneven tone in children

There are times that in a newborn, at the same time, some muscles are too tense, while others are very relaxed. Asymmetry (dystonia) is easily determined, its characteristic features are:

Uneven arrangement of skin folds on the body of the crumbs.
Turning the head and pelvis towards the muscles that are in hypertonicity.
Filling the toddler on one barrel, while lying on a hard surface.
Arcuate bend of the body.

Massage for a child with increased tone of some muscles and decreased tone of others is done asymmetric: relaxing and stimulating for different areas. It happens as follows:

Areas with increased and decreased muscle tension are identified.
A relaxing massage for a child with hypertonicity of certain zones is done with the help of stroking, light rubbing, swaying.
In other areas characterized by muscle weakness, claps, chopping movements, rolling with the phalanges of the fingers are used.

It evens out the tone of swimming, exercises on the ball very well. If there is no effect, you must consult a doctor again to find out the reason.

Children's massage for hypertonicity of some muscles and hypotonia of others is prescribed on an individual basis, after a specialist has determined relaxed and tense areas.

It is worth remembering that if the baby has tension or relaxation of certain muscle groups, do not panic. The main thing is not to hesitate, to see a doctor as soon as possible. Such deviations lend themselves well to correction. Massage of a newborn with hypertonicity and hypotonia is an effective enough tool to normalize the physiological state of the baby in the present and avoid consequences in the future.

With increased muscle tone in infants, a relaxing massage is the very first doctor's prescription. With the help of manipulations that are easy to master for each parent, you can and should carry out massage even at home.

The benefits of a relaxing massage:

Attention! The massage will be useful for both mom and baby, because the touch of mom or dad has a beneficial effect on the nervous system, and parents can establish a reliable emotional contact with the baby. In addition, the massage will take place in a relaxed atmosphere, which is also useful for babies.

Advantages and disadvantages

The pros and cons of massage to reduce stress should be discussed after the functionality of this procedure has been determined.

The main advantages of massage with increased muscle tone in a newborn:

complex beneficial effect on all systems and organs of the baby;
practically has no contraindications.

A relaxing massage of the whole body or individual parts has no negative sides in the absence of contraindications. If the massage is performed incorrectly, then negative aspects may appear. For example, in the case of an inappropriate technique, the baby may receive not a relaxing, but a tonic massage and, as a result, overexcitation.

Sometimes massage alone cannot cope with certain diseases and it is necessary to apply a number of additional physiotherapeutic procedures, and in difficult cases, also drug treatment. In general, a relaxing massage performed by a mother or a specialist has practically no drawbacks, if you exclude possible contraindications. The latter are determined by the doctor and are of a purely individual character.

General rules of conduct

Compliance with the necessary conditions of massage is a guarantee of its positive effect. To conduct a session, you need not only to master the technique, but also to prepare the venue and the necessary equipment:

a blanket for covering the table surface with it;
a pair of clean, soft diapers;
clothes for the child.

Conditions for massage with hypertonicity for infants:

How to do it for newborns and nursing babies?

Muscle warm-up

Stroking

Massage with increased muscle tone in babies begins with stroking. This technique allows the muscles to more effectively relax tense muscles, relieves pain and improves blood circulation.

Advice! It should be stroked with soft, smooth movements, slow and slightly massaging.

Rubbing

To perform this technique, you need to lay the baby on his back.
Place the handle / leg between your palms.
Rub the limb in different directions.

Cuddles

To perform squeezing movements, you need to lay the baby on the back.
Grasping the child's handle or leg with your hands, perform rhythmic pressure of medium intensity.

Shaking

This technique is very effective, despite its simplicity:

It is necessary to place the thumb in the palm of the baby, and grab the rest of the wrist.
Avoiding sudden movements smoothly, slowly spread the handles to the sides.
Make a slight shake; This technique is contraindicated in severe hypertonia.

Breathing exercises

The child should be placed on the back with his feet towards the masseur.
The palm is stroked on the front and side of the chest, oblique muscles of the abdomen, bypassing the cartilaginous zone.
Next, you need to put the child on his stomach and perform stroking and rubbing of the trapezius muscle.

Knead the arms and legs

In order to relieve tension from the arms of the baby, it is necessary to put the baby on the back.
Then, to manipulate the left hand, you need to put your right thumb in your left palm, and grasp the wrist joint of your hand with your left hand.
Next, you should move along the muscles - extensors heading towards the shoulder.
With the right hand, repeat the same thing, and at this time, hold the left handle in a bent state.
After ten procedures, rubbing the child's handles can be applied.

Foot massage next:

You should put the baby on his back and turn his legs towards the masseur.
With one hand, it is necessary to hold the kneaded leg on weight, in a bent state, and with the other hand, stroke the limb along the inner and outer side of the leg from the foot to the thigh.

Advice! Rubbing begins after 10 days of procedures. The feet are massaged with the thumb, drawing a figure eight. It is carried out with light pressure from the toes to the heel. The toes will be reflexively unbend.

Other parts of the body

Chest

It is performed in two positions - lying on your back and lying on your tummy. You need to make movements very lightly, without effort by pressing with your fingers.

First, stroking movements should be carried out along the intercostal spaces from the sternum to the sides.
Then turn the baby over on his stomach, and repeat the manipulations on the back.
Repeat 2-4 times.

Stomach

With light stroking movements of the palms, stroking the tummy... To do this, put both hands on your stomach and gently stroke it clockwise with your right hand from top to bottom, and with your left hand from bottom to top. The number of repetitions is 6-8 times.