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Symptoms
By Mayo Clinic staffDystonia symptoms:
- Include involuntary muscle contractions that cause a distorted posture or appearance.
- Begin in a single region, such as your foot, hand or face.
- Occur during a specific action. For example, you may experience involuntary contractions in one leg when walking forward, but not when running forward or walking backward.
- Worsen with stress, fatigue or anxiety.
- Plateau within a few years.
The impact of dystonia on a person's quality of life varies depending on the part of the body affected and the severity of contractions:
- Eyelids. Rapid blinking or squinting (blepharospasm) can be so severe that it makes you functionally blind.
- Neck. Cervical dystonia may cause the head to twist and turn painfully to one side, or to pull forward or backward.
- Jaw and tongue. Oromandibular dystonia may cause slurred speech or difficulty eating or swallowing.
- Hand and forearm. Muscian's cramp is a dystonia syndrome that impairs playing an instrument. Writer's cramp is a dystonia syndrome that impairs writing. An early sign of writer's cramp dystonia may be handwriting that worsens after you've written a few lines with cramping of the hand or forearm.
When to see a doctor
Because early symptoms of dystonia are often mild, intermittent and linked to a specific activity, some people with dystonia initially think they're just imagining a problem. If you or someone you know is experiencing such involuntary muscle contractions, a doctor visit may lead to helpful treatment.
- Dystonias fact sheet. National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke. http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/dystonias/detail_dystonias.htm. Accessed Jan. 21, 2010.
- Tarsy D, et al. Dystonia. New England Journal of Medicine. 2006;355:818.
- Comella C. Treatment of dystonia. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed Jan. 18, 2010.
- Schwarz CS, et al. Genetics and treatment of dystonia. Neurologic Clinics. 2009;27:697.
- Dystonias. The Merck Manuals: The Merck Manual for Healthcare Professionals. http://www.merck.com/mmpe/print/sec16/ch221/ch221c.html. Accessed Jan. 21, 2010.
- Ropper AH, et al. Abnormalities of movement and posture caused by disease of the basal ganglia. In: Ropper AH, et al. Adams and Victor's Principles of Neurology. 9th ed. New York, N.Y.: McGraw-Hill Medical; 2009. http://www.accessmedicine.com/content.aspx?aID=3630437. Accessed Jan. 21, 2010.
- Complementary therapy. Dystonia Medical Research Foundation. http://www.dystonia-foundation.org/pages/complementary_therapy/156.php. Accessed Jan. 22, 2010.
- Ahlskog EJ (expert opinion). Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn. Jan. 27, 2010.
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