Dystonia

A neurologic disorder resulting in sustained, acute, irregular, tonic muscular spasms causing twisting and repetitive motions that affect movement of the tongue, jaw, eyes, neck, and sometimes the entire body.

A neurological movement disorder characterized by prolonged, repetitive muscle contractions that may cause twisting or jerking movements of muscles.

Irregular muscle tone due to central nervous system (CNS) disorder, which can result in unusual movements or distorted positions.

Acute tonic muscular spasms, often of the tongue, jaw, eyes, and neck, but sometimes of the whole body. Sometimes occurs during the first few days of antipsychotic drug administration.

Prolonged muscular contractions that may cause twisting (torsion) of body parts, repetitive movements and increased muscular tone.

Disordered muscle tone, causing involuntary contractions which make the limbs deformed.

Dystonia is a neurologic movement disorder characterized by sustained muscle contractions that frequently cause twisting or repetitive movements and abnormal, sometimes painful, postures or positions. This disorder may involve any voluntary muscle in the body. Defined as a syndrome of sustained muscle contractions, dystonia encompasses motor syndromes that vary as a function of age of onset, cause, and body distribution. The symptoms of dystonia may begin during early childhood, in adolescence, or during adulthood. Dystonia may frequently be misdiagnosed or confused with other disorders. The diagnosis may be missed as the movements and resulting postures are often unusual and the condition is rare. The exact prevalence of dystonia in the general population is not known; however, an estimate of330 cases per million has been made.

Abnormal muscle tone, especially sudden muscle spasms due to a rare inherited disease (dystonia musculorum deformans) or sometimes to drug reaction.

State of hyper-or hypotonicity of tissue; most often used in reference to muscle tone.

A neurological movement disorder that results in distorted or impaired voluntary movement. The disorder is often painful and may affect one part of the body, several parts, or the entire body. Focal dystonia, generally appearing during a person’s 50s, is the term used to describe the disorder when a single part of the body is affected; an individual may have more than one focal dystonia. When the whole body is involved, the condition is termed generalized dystonia. This form of the disorder usually occurs during childhood. Dystonia may occur as the result of stroke, most commonly affecting an arm and leg on the same side of the body. Other¬ wise, the cause is unknown. There is no cure at present, although medication may help reduce spasm in selected cases.

A postural disorder caused by disease of the ‘basal ganglia in the brain. There is spasm in the muscles of the shoulders, neck, and trunk. The arm is often held in a rotated position and the head is drawn back and to one side.

A type of involuntary movement characterized by a sustained muscle contraction, frequently causing twisting and repetitive movements or abnormal postures, and caused by inappropriate instructions from the brain. It is sometimes called torsion spasm, and may be synonymous with athetosis, when the extremities are involved. Often the condition is of unknown cause (idiopathic), but there may be an inherited predisposition in some people. Others may have brain disorders such as cerebral palsy or Wilson’s disease.

Prolonged involuntary muscular contractions that may cause twisting (torsion) of body parts, repetitive movements, and increased muscular tone. These movements may be in the form of rhythmic jerks. The condition may progress in childhood, but progression is rare in adults. In children the legs are usually affected first.

Dystonia is characterized by abnormal and rigid muscle stiffness, leading to painful spasms, unusual fixed postures, or peculiar movement patterns. It can either affect a specific area of the body or have a more widespread impact. Two common types of localized dystonia are torticollis, causing painful neck spasms, and scoliosis, resulting from an injury to the back that leads to muscle spasms and an abnormal sideways curvature of the spine. On the other hand, generalized dystonia can be caused by neurological disorders like Parkinson’s disease or may arise as a side effect of antipsychotic drugs.