Hypertonia

Increased tightness of muscle tone. Untreated hypertonia can lead to loss of function and deformity. Treatment is by physical and/or occupational therapy, and in some cases muscle relaxant medication. Injections of botulism toxin (botox) are a recent treatment for chronic hypertonia in cerebral palsy and other disorders. Also known as spasticity.

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Extreme tension of the muscles or arteries. SYN: hypertonicity (1). [hyper- + G. tonos, tension]

- h. polycythemica a form of polycythemia without a prominent degree of splenomegaly, but with increased blood pressure.

- sympathetic h. overfunction of the sympathetic nervous system, often experienced as anxiety.

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hy·per·to·nia .hī-pər-'tō-nē-ə n HYPERTONICITY

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(hypertonicity)

n.

exceptionally high tension in muscles.

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hy·per·to·nia (hi″pər-toґne-ə) [hyper- + ton- + -ia] excessive tone of the skeletal muscles, so that they have increased resistance to passive stretching and reflexes are often exaggerated; this usually indicates upper motor neuron injury.