floppiness in an infant
Last reviewed 01/2018
Floppiness is a term used to describe babies who have marked muscle hypotonias. Maintenance of normal muscle tone requires integrity of the peripheral neuromuscular system, the spinal cord and higher centres.
A useful clinical test in discriminating a paralytic cause of floppiness from a non-paralytic cause is to hold the baby in a ventral position. A baby with a paralytic cause of floppiness shows much less movement than a baby with non-paralytic floppiness.