Gait Patterns of Children with Hypotonia

INTRODUCTION Hypotonia, or decreased muscle tone, is a common diagnosis in infants and children. The presence of hypotonia is generally indicative of an underlying neuromuscular or genetic disorder, including Down syndrome. In conjunction with decreased muscle tone, children with hypotonia typically exhibit ligamentous laxity and instability of the lower limb joints, which may result in abnormal walking patterns [1]. We currently know very little about hypotonic gait patterns and treatment strategies for this disorder are controversial. The purpose of this study was to identify gait parameters that differentiated between hypotonic and normative gait patterns using statistical classifiers. A greater understanding of hypotonic walking patterns will lead to improved treatment procedures and a reduction in health care demands.