Low muscle tone in kids

[Anonymous]

This was never me toned before but recently the doctor mentioned DS having a low muscle tone. He is lower elementary, and currently does not do sport, just walks, bike rides.

How can we make muscle tone stronger ? His muscle feel week (and not much muscles to begin with). He used to be proportionate and now long (normal height for his age) and thin (on lower end for weight).

If you have low muscle tone kid - is the a diet to follow? Or activities? Does this get better? He looks very thin (he is allergic to milk so mag be it is a lack of calcium?)
Thanks in advance for any info.

[Anonymous]

More meat, fewer carbohydrates, more exercise.

[Anonymous]

Muscle tone is controlled neurologically and is something you are born with. You cannot improve muscle tone itself, although you can strengthen muscles.

My son has low tone. He is not athletic. He has zero interest in team sports. But he rides his bike and enjoys walks. He likes swimming (not competitively). He is into academics more and likes chess. He will find his niche.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:More meat, fewer carbohydrates, more exercise.

None of these things have anything to do with muscle tone, and the middle one is pretty terrible advice for a young kid, especially one who is underweight.

Muscle tone refers to the percentage of muscle fibers that are tense when the muscle is resting. As a PP said, it's controlled neurologically, and can't be changed. It makes it harder to gain strength, so it often is accompanied by reduced strength, but it isn't the same thing as strength.

A kid with low muscle tone is going to benefit from exercise, although they probably will see more modest strength gains than a kid with higher tone. Finding ways that OP's kid enjoys exercising, and perhaps consulting a PT for ideas and specific exercises can help.

In addition, if his muscle tone has changed over time that can be a concerning sign. If it's just that it's a subtle difference and you didn't notice it earlier, that's much less concerning. It's worth asking your pediatrician if you should investigate further.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Muscle tone is controlled neurologically and is something you are born with. You cannot improve muscle tone itself, although you can strengthen muscles.

My son has low tone. He is not athletic. He has zero interest in team sports. But he rides his bike and enjoys walks. He likes swimming (not competitively). He is into academics more and likes chess. He will find his niche.

+1

[Anonymous]

None of these things have anything to do with muscle tone, and the middle one is pretty terrible advice for a young kid, especially one who is underweight.

You don’t build “muscle tone” - that’s bullshit. You build muscle. You do that by eating more protein and exercising. If he eats too many carbs and doesn’t exercise he’ll just get “skinnyfat” like so many kids with stick arms and legs and fat bellies.

[Anonymous]

Be cautious with that label - especially from generic pediatricians. My daughter is 13 and was told that from her pediatrician and then form Hopkins specialist …..sure enough she was very motor delayed …. guess what, she’s a great athlete, plays travel sports, very coordinated, and has a 6 pack. I’m annoyed I spent so many years worried about this. My youngest - also labeled that - we’ll see.

[Anonymous]

Physical therapy with a pediatric PT! Made a world of difference for my DC.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

None of these things have anything to do with muscle tone, and the middle one is pretty terrible advice for a young kid, especially one who is underweight.

You don’t build “muscle tone” - that’s bullshit. You build muscle. You do that by eating more protein and exercising. If he eats too many carbs and doesn’t exercise he’ll just get “skinnyfat” like so many kids with stick arms and legs and fat bellies.

OP's question isn't about building muscle, it's about muscle tone. Your post about building muscle is irrelevant.

And restricting carbs in a little kid because you're worried about "skinnyfat" is all kinds of disordered. Please get help.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

None of these things have anything to do with muscle tone, and the middle one is pretty terrible advice for a young kid, especially one who is underweight.

You don’t build “muscle tone” - that’s bullshit. You build muscle. You do that by eating more protein and exercising. If he eats too many carbs and doesn’t exercise he’ll just get “skinnyfat” like so many kids with stick arms and legs and fat bellies.

You don’t seem to know what muscle tone actually is: read the description above.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Muscle tone is controlled neurologically and is something you are born with. You cannot improve muscle tone itself, although you can strengthen muscles.

My son has low tone. He is not athletic. He has zero interest in team sports. But he rides his bike and enjoys walks. He likes swimming (not competitively). He is into academics more and likes chess. He will find his niche.

This is a great summary. My daughter has low muscle tone. There are Facebook groups about this. She isn’t a great athlete but very flexible and loves to play.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Physical therapy with a pediatric PT! Made a world of difference for my DC.

Thank you everyone! Pp above, do you mind sharing your pediatric PT?
Or the clinic?
From OP. I am shocked I never noticed. He was born big and was a big baby but now skinny arms and super skinny waist and legs. And low muscle tone

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:More meat, fewer carbohydrates, more exercise.

New poster here. Terrible advice. My DD with low muscle tone is skinny as a rail and many kids with LMT need extra calories, fats, and carbohydrates. Many LMT kids have a mixture of LMT and HMT (high muscle tone) that means that although they don't exercise, they are burning a lot of calories just positioning their bodies. It's like doing pilates all day long.

OP, physical therapy helps with this. So does swimming. My DD gets stronger in the summertime from swimming every day at camp. Horseback riding can also help. Sitting on a horse tones core muscles. Dance is also good.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:More meat, fewer carbohydrates, more exercise.

New poster here. Terrible advice. My DD with low muscle tone is skinny as a rail and many kids with LMT need extra calories, fats, and carbohydrates. Many LMT kids have a mixture of LMT and HMT (high muscle tone) that means that although they don't exercise, they are burning a lot of calories just positioning their bodies. It's like doing pilates all day long.

OP, physical therapy helps with this. So does swimming. My DD gets stronger in the summertime from swimming every day at camp. Horseback riding can also help. Sitting on a horse tones core muscles. Dance is also good.

I have a 15 year old with low tone, he was slightly delayed on gross motor skills and also had/has some motor planning difficulties and fine motor challenges but no other diagnosis (fwiw he’s a straight A student in all advanced classes so this was very much a physical issue). He’s also super skinny despite eating a lot.

PT may be good to get some exercises for core strength. He may be old enough that typical pediatric PT doesn’t make sense. Anything active he likes is good - hiking, biking, swimming, karate. Something that’s not a team sport may be more his speed. I feel like DS doesn’t develop obvious musculature w/o way more activity than it would take for a typical person.

All that said, my DS is a decent tennis player, plays multiple times a week and really likes outdoor activities like kayaking and hiking.

[Anonymous]

I'm confused, I feel like my body started to fill out muscle-wise when I was a teenager. (I am a woman) I played a lot of sports growing up

Seems like men continue to grow even into college?