By: Priyal Sakhuja
We often hear people say that they must workout to gain “muscle tone,” or more commonly speaking, they must get “toned.” But what exactly are they trying to gain and why is having muscle tone even important? Simply put, muscle tone is what makes your muscles feel firm and contracted while resting. This is how our muscles feel in the normal state without intentional flexing. We may take this for granted, but let’s take a moment to think- what would happen if we suddenly lost this muscle tone?
“Atonic” means “without tone.” Thus, atonic seizures are essentially what happen when our muscles lose their strength or normal tension. This type of seizure is known as a “drop attack” or “drop seizure” since they occur without any warning and can cause the person to suddenly drop their things and collapse. Although atonic seizures can occur in all age groups, they are most common in children who also have other seizure types, such as tonic or myoclonic seizures (Devinsky).
Since these seizures are very abrupt and unexpected and the child could fall with great force, injuries can often occur to the head and face. Children and adults sometimes use protective headgear to protect themselves from this sudden collapsing. Some signs and symptoms to look out for in atonic seizures include (Donner):
• Sudden loss of muscle tone
• The person will go limp and fall straight to the ground
• The child will remain conscious or have a brief loss of consciousness
• Eyelids may droop, head nods
• Jerking
• The seizure usually lasts less than 15 seconds, although some may last several minutes
This type of seizure certainly seems very frightening due to its element of surprise, but keeping the signs, symptoms, and general facts about atonic seizures in mind could make the unexpected seem a little less unexpected.
Sources:
1. http://www.epilepsy.com/epilepsy/seizure_atonic
2.http://www.aboutkidshealth.ca/En/ResourceCentres/Epilepsy/UnderstandingEpilepsyDiagnosis/TypesofSeizures/Pages/Atonic-Seizures.aspx