What is dystonia?
Dystonia is a movement disorder in which your muscles contract involuntarily, causing repetitive or twisting movements.
Muscle spasms can be both mild and severe.
A person may feel pain due to a spasm; In some clinical cases the discomfort is so severe it significantly lowers the patient's quality of life, changing the daily routine.
There's no cure for dystonia. But medications can improve symptoms.
Surgery is sometimes used to disable or regulate nerves or certain brain regions in people with severe dystonia.
Areas of the body that can be affected include:
- Neck (cervical dystonia). Contractions cause your head to twist and turn to one side, or pull forward or backward, sometimes causing pain.
- Eyelids. Rapid blinking or involuntary spasms cause your eyes to close (blepharospasms) and make it difficult for you to see.
- Jaw or tongue (oromandibular dystonia). You might experience slurred speech, drooling, and difficulty chewing or swallowing.
- Voice box and vocal cords (spasmodic dystonia). You might have a tight or whispering voice.
- Hand and forearm. Some types of dystonia occur only while you do a repetitive activity, such as writing (writer's dystonia) or playing a specific musical instrument (musician's dystonia).
The exact cause of dystonia isn't known. Some forms of dystonia are inherited.
Dystonia also can be a symptom of another disease or condition, including:
- Parkinson's disease
- Huntington's disease
- Wilson's disease
- Traumatic brain injury
- Stroke
- Brain tumor
- Oxygen deprivation
- Tuberculosis
- Encephalitis
- Reactions to certain medications or heavy metal poisoning
Source:
https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/dystonia/symptoms-causes/syc-20350480
