Focal dystonia causes involuntary muscle movements, affecting specific body parts. Symptoms vary depending on the affected area, and there is no cure. Treatment aims to reduce muscle spasms and pain, with medication or surgery as options.
Focal dystonia is a medical condition that causes muscle twitching, abnormal twisting, recurring movements, or atypical postures in specific parts of the body. Muscle movements or contractions are involuntary and can be painful. The involuntary movement usually affects one muscle group, such as the arms, neck or legs.
The symptoms of focal dystonia are related to the part of the body affected. For example, if the hands are the affected body part, an early symptom could be when the person’s handwriting gets progressively worse. In other cases, if the neck muscles are affected, the person’s neck twists involuntarily, particularly when the person is under stress. If focal dystonia affects the eyelid, it can blink rapidly and at blinding speed. Sometimes, the person’s speech is affected and there may be a slight tremor in the voice.
In most cases, focal dystonia occurs in adults. It is usually a primary condition, meaning it is the only problem and is usually related to genetics; however, there are some cases where it is secondary to a larger neurological or medical problem. There are many types of focal dysotonia. Each type is related to the part of the body affected. For example, blepharospasm affects the eyes; spasmodic torticollis affects the shoulders and neck; cranial dystonia affects the jaw, mouth, or face; spasmodic dystonia is observed when the vocal cords are affected; and, hand dystonia, or writer’s cramp, affects the hand or forearm.
Spasmodic torticollis or cervical dystonia affects the most people among all types of focal dystonias. As mentioned, it affects the neck muscles. When someone has cervical dystonia, their head rotates from side to side. Sometimes, the head may even nod forward or backward. While it can present at any time, it is first seen when the person reaches middle age, in most cases.
The second most common type of focal dystonia is blepharospasm. It affects the eyelids and makes the eyelids blink repeatedly and uncontrollably. Only one eye is usually affected at first; however, after some time, it commonly affects both. Unfortunately, if both eyelids are affected, the person remains blind, even though they may have perfect vision and healthy eyes.
There is no single treatment that will cure focal dystonia. Rather, doctors use a variety of therapies. Their goal is to reduce muscle spasms and the pain associated with the disorder. Some types of medications are helpful, but many have side effects. Surgery is often recommended if medications don’t work or if side effects are too debilitating.
Protect your devices with Threat Protection by NordVPN
