Poor muscle tone correlation with AS??

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This is a tricky one to nail down whether it's true or false, so thought I'd pitch it out there. I have read, once in a while, that poor muscle tone comes with the AS condition. I know that more neurological physical manifestations come with it, such as awkward gait and posture, appearing "ret*d" to a layperson while running, and such, but I wouldn't consider muscle tone a neurological manifestation. Yet we see these stereotypes in popular culture, like Sheldon from "3rd Rock" and they're always like string beans. (for the height issue, BTW, most Aspies I've met - male and female- are at least average height, so that's not an issue).

Being an Aspie, I have noticed that it seems more difficult for me to put on muscle - I found through a gym coach in my late 20s that part of it was my technique - and though I've worked out an average of over 200 days a year from the age of 26 to 33 (I'm 37 today), I always found that friends/acquaintances who worked out at a similar frequency got better results. I had pretty good diet too with lots of chicken and fruits/veggies. I'm not small by any means, I'm 5'10" and 202 lbs. But I still find it's not the same gains for the amount of effort I put in, so perhaps there is some impaired muscle growth element apparent in Aspies, I don't know. Maybe the poor muscle tone "symptom" is more a byproduct of Aspies having less interest in going to the gym because of various factors e.g. lack of buddy to go with, lack of money for membership, getting overwhelmed by all the lights/sounds/crowds? I'm not sure, but I would tend to discount the muscle tone as a "symptom" of the condition, strictly speaking.

My occupational therapist says it's more likely for an AS person to have poor muscle tone, it goes with clumsiness and odd gaits and toe walking.

I'm diagnosed with Asperger's & Dyspraxia, and have Hypotonia. So, yes, in my experience.

While it seems to be more common, it is certainly not universal. My muscle tone is fine. I am a bit all over the map regarding clumsiness. I can't seem to walk through the halls at work without bumping walls occasionally, but I surf quite well. Seems to be a focus things. When focused on physical activity, I'm OK. But when focused on mental things like abstractions, I seem to lose some awareness of my personal space.

I don't know what "muscle tone" really translates to ... The gait IMO is just a matter of not knowing which muscles to tense and which ones to relax when walking, standing, sitting...I could never remember to tense my back muscles when I sat down as a kid, because to me sitting was associated with "resting", I saw no benefit in being all tensed up while sitting ... I walked with my legs going first and my body following until I figured out I had to lean forward and tilt my hips to the back a bit if I didn't want to look ret*d, my cue to adjusting was when i could see my feet from above. You're not supposed to see them as you walk.
I have a very athletic body, it's genetic, runs in the family. Didn't help my gait one bit

Not based on my experience. I'm a bodybuilder, and have excellent tone. I don't know if maybe it's easier for some than others to get there, but clearly Asperger's doesn't make it impossible, nor ultra-difficult.

Charles

A great deal more associated with Rett syndrome, but yes, in my experience it seems that AS does tend to be related to poor muscle tone.

That's not the case for me, though. I have normal upper-body strength and somewhat above average lower-body strength. My issue is more with loose joints--my joints bend too far, and that makes me more vulnerable to sprains and requires me to use more effort than most people to make any given movement. It's actually a fairly common issue, and usually needs no treatment; but it does give me a reason to ask to type rather than write essays during testing--my pencil grip is very tight and causes cramps if I write too long.

My muscle tone is fine.

It's more likely that the bad muscle tone is caused by bad posture, undereating, and not going to the gym.

The only excercise I really get is walking...and if I am at a concert or drunk and listening to music I might headbang if its metal or otherwise dance around because I get very enthusiastic about music when I drink. I am not very energetic most of the time so the idea of exerting myself or working out at a gym is very unappealing.

Muscle tone refers to the state of partial contraction that is continuously maintained in the muscles; this low level of contraction aids posture. Since muscle contraction is directly controlled by the nervous system, it makes sense that muscle tone, and therefore posture/gait, might differ in spectrum individuals.

I'm not sure if this is related to muscle mass, or the ability to add muscle mass.

I am clumsy, but I work out regularly and have very strong muscles, particularly in my legs. I also saw a significant increase in my arm muscle mass after only about a month of weight exercises, so I don't think the muscles themselves are the problem for me, I think it is a nervous system issue.

I have always been naturally stronger than average with better muscle control but then again I'm not clumsy either so maybe that part of AS missed me, I did martial arts and I was definitely one of the more graceful and stronger people in the class.

I can have a bad posture when I'm sat in a group though or eating a meal or something because I don't like to sit to attention with the group rather drift off into my own thoughts and slouch

I have autism. dyspraxia. and low musle tone. I can not stand for more than 1 hour before it is so painful I turn white and have sharp pains in my ribs and back whcih can not suprot me. and that is a chalenge. after 10 minutes my back starts geting pained. becuase my musles do not do the srpot they need to. I have also had 6 dislocations where low muslce tone was part of the corse. mainly I move but my muscles do not always go tight in the right places at the right time. I can trun my arms all the way around. my hands can go forwad all the way to my arm and nearly all the way backwards. my legs can trun alot but if I do they might come out of place so I have to be careufl how I walk. the first time I dislocated I jsut walked around a corner.

I'm clumsy, but my muscle tone is OK and I gain muscle relatively quickly.