How do you know if you have low muscle tone?

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I have read some people say you can tell from the face, the skin is less defined, almost 'baggy'.

I have never been able to do a push up (I can drop down but can't lift my weight back up, and I'm average build).

Or is it a whole lot more serious than that?

Are there some specific exercises you do to find out if you have low muscle tone, is it an OT thing?

I have it. My tendons are highly flexible. Basically most doctors notice it me by bending the joints etc. My toes have also bent under due to this too.

It can cause sprains and tendonitis etc easily as I age. I can get back troubles. I try to exercise each day to strengthen/ tighten tendons and muscles. If I don't exercise, I quickly don't feel good by getting aches etc. I assume it can help lead to Arthritis or other damage if not treated to some degree by exercise. As a teenage, my knees would also easily move out of place and this caused me to go into casts.

I try to use interval training and exercise with Pilates using bands a lot to "tighten" muscle groups. I also do the rehab exercises given. I'm pretty sure exercise as the main form of treatment given (rehab perscription) with some anti-inflammatories.

I recommend seeing a doctor about it if you think it "may" be impacting you.

There are a lot of factors to be considered when developing your body.
If you think you have a medical problem it's best to consult a physician first before attempting any strenuous activity.
Genetics definitely play a role, as some people require less work to achieve the same results as others.
In the end what you really want is to be able to exercise using your own body weight and optionally a partner's.
If you can't do a proper push up, then do it with your knees planted on the ground and eventually you'll be able to do it properly.
It's all about patience, focus and not giving up too easily.
It's also about "enjoying" the pain that comes with the exercise.
You'll know you have been doing your workout right when the next day you're sore all over.
Coordination might be an issue at the beginning, but as your muscle memory grows it will become less so.
In a sense you have to come to understand, or rather feel that your mind and body are one thing.
Real results will be visible after long months of hard work, if not years.
I've been working very hard most of my teenage years and adulthood to overcome my clumsiness and the results are what I wanted. This included wrestling, jiu-jitsu, judo, karate, fencing, ballroom and folklore dancing.
In other words you have to develop a passionate obsession about becoming fit and then you can moderate it to your own standards.
Using your body to do the things you thought were impossible for you to do is quite a rush and a source of personal pride.
Walking is your best friend and the more varied the terrain the better (I walk about 60km a week).
And always remember to do a proper warm-up followed by proper stretching before your exercise routine. Injuries are bound to happen and minimizing them is the key.
I would also suggest avoiding gyms. Being surrounded by narcissists is bound to make you feel less happy about your improvements and achievements.
I spend less than 20 hours a week on various forms of exercise per week (that includes my walking routine) and feel good about the shape I'm in and the way I look (I can tell from the way strangers talk about me when they think they're out of earshot. Having acute hearing is a double edged sword ).
I'm not sure if I can give you anymore advice, it all depends on you and your attitude.
I strive to overcome my innate deficiencies in balance and coordination (I'm still quite clumsy first thing in the morning) and intend to stay fit as long as my body and health allow me to.
Best regards and I hope you can find your way.

In my case with NVLD, it's weird. I don't have low muscle tone, and actually posess much more muscle mass than the average person for similar bone structure. What I didn't have was motor efficiency. Like I used to be horrendous at pushups until like a week ago. I found out my problem was I wasn't putting my hands far enough back. Same with bench pressing, same issue. It should have been something I just observed as a kid, but nobody actually explained how to do pushups right, they were just like "Uh, do them." Like muscle mass doesn't have a lot of correlation to strength, as strength is the central nervous system, and the only thing physically stopping the body from applying maximum strength is your tendons. Other than that, it's all in the mind. This is how like, 110lb mothers can lift a car off a child or something. The body overrides those systems. But with training, you can do the same almost. This is how like 47 kilo champion female weightlifters can lift more than most heavier men. But you might find if someone can explain technique to you for some exercises, making subtle little tweaks, you could do a lot better. This happened to me recently in swimming. Once I was taught technique, it got waaay easier.

I think the term is more dyspraxia. Dyspraxia caused me to have terrible posture, too, so that's one sign.

You could try taking a self-test for hypermobility. Hypermobility and hypotonia go hand-in-hand.

Dyspraxia's a different issue. Hypotonia is reduced muscle tone - your muscles are quick to relax and slow to tense up. Dyspraxia is more in the higher motor centers, the ability to execute learnt motor sequences and coordinate motor responses with sensory feedback.

You can have both problems, or you could have one without the other. (Personally, I have both.)

Hypotonia without dyspraxia, you'd be physically weak and hypermobile, but if you are capable of preforming each movement in a sequence, you can put them all together easily. You can also readily change a movement midway through, eg if someone moves the object you're reaching for.

Dyspraxia without hypotonia, you'd have normal strength and flexibility (for your muscle mass, that is - inactivity could lower muscle mass but not muscle tone), but you'd have a lot of trouble learning new motor skills. And even if you already know how to do movements X, Y and Z, you'd have trouble doing XYZ in short succession (I often have this issue in karate). You could also have trouble changing your movement partway through based on sensory cues, such as if someone moves an object while you're reaching for it.

Last edited by Ettina on 02 Mar 2013, 12:43 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Thanks everyone for your helpful replies. Ettina that's especially helpful, I've just looked, not sure about the first one with extending joints beyond 180 degrees but all the others fit me. I am very flexible despite being unfit, (I can touch the palms of my hands straight down on the floor without bending my knees, and my chiropractor said I was flexible) but I don't know exactly what they mean about the 180 degrees.

I also can't do push ups. Never could unless I was on my knees doing it instead of using my feet and arms. I also can;t do pull ups either where you hang on a bar and pull yourself up. But everyone else seemed to do these with no problem. I don't know what this means. I just accepted these weren't my forte and not everyone can do the same things and I just happen I can't do these at all. I used think I had to practice and try harder but it's so hard and others seem to do it naturally.

Don't get me started on warm ups. But yet I found them to be easier to do in my last year of high school because I had been walking on the treadmill.

There are things out there fortunately we can all do to help improve our balance.