I would really like to ask the physical therapist about this, but we don't have one on this board so I figured that I would ask the occupational therapist.

Quinn is 20 months old and was diagnosed with with a global developmental delay about a month ago. She is hypotonic (low muscle tone) and was diagnosed at age 9mo. She just started receiving OT, ST and PT. I remember when she was about 4 months old, I asked the pediatrician why her shoulders crunch and crack when I picked her up. She said that it's something that will improve with time as she gets stronger. Well, her shoulders still do that. And seem to be getting worse with time.

Quinn has low muscle tone throughout her body, but it's more noticeable in her trunk and arms. When I pick her up, her shoulders crunch and you can just feel them doing that. I don't like it and it makes me cringe. Also, when I am washing her body, I have to hold her arms and stuff and when I am maneuvering her arms I can feel the wrists crunch and her elbows and her shoulders. Her feet do it too. So do her knees. Is this normal in a hypotonic child? I just don't like it. It makes me cringe because to me, it feels like her joints are slipping or her bones are rubbing together, but I'm not a therapist or anything like that so I don't know what it actually feels like to have joints slip or bones rub together.

Any advise? If it's normal, why does her body do this? Does anybody else's kid with hypotonia do this?

-Sarah

Hi Sarah:
Forgive me for missing your thread :banghead: . I will also talk to Roni about getting a PT on board here. I think that is an excellent idea!

Let me give you my 2 cents worth about your precious Quinn. Hypotonia will cause motor delay, as it has for Quinn. However, I would not say that is is normal for a child to have crunching and cracking noises in the larger joints when they are moved, and yes, I have had patients with this kind of condition. I see that your physician has run chromosomes and you have some tests pending. Quinn is also going to have some scans. Did your doctor tell you what conditions he/she was trying to rule out?

Robynne