Dystonia

Dystonia is a medical term for a range of movement disorders that cause muscle spasms and contractions. The spasms and contractions may either be sustained or may come and go. Movements are often repetitive and cause unusual, awkward and sometimes painful postures. Tremor (shaking) can also be a characteristic of some types of dystonia. Dystonia is thought to be a neurological condition (caused by underlying problems with the brain and nervous system). However, in most cases, brain functions such as intelligence, memory and language remain unaffected. Dystonia can affect only one muscle or a group of muscles. There are five main types of dystonia: • Focal dystonia • Segmental dystonia • Multifocal dystonia • Generalised dystonia • Hemidystonia

Symptoms:

• Include involuntary muscle contractions that cause repetitive movements or distorted postures
• Begin in a single area, such as your foot, hand or neck
• May occur during a specific action, such as handwriting
• May worsen with stress, fatigue or anxiety
• May become more noticeable over time

Diagnostic test:

• Blood or urine tests
• Computerized tomography (CT scan)
• Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)
• Electromyography (EMG)

Treatment:

• botulinum toxin – widely used to treat neurological conditions that involve abnormal muscle contractions, such as dystonia; it's injected into the affected muscles to temporarily weaken them and reduce spasms
• medication – such as anticholinergics, Baclofen and muscle relaxants
• physiotherapy – where exercises are used to improve range of motion and posture, and prevent muscle weakness
• surgery – if other treatments are unsuccessful, the nerves controlling the muscles causing spasms can be cut (selective peripheral denervation), or electrodes can be implanted within the brain, which are connected to a small device that's similar to a pacemaker (deep brain stimulation)