Dystonia

Dystonia is a disorder that causes your muscles to tighten up without you wanting them to.

The abnormal muscle tone of dystonia usually results in muscle cramping. A cramp is a sudden painful muscle contraction (spasm) that you can't control. Muscle cramps may happen more and more over time and force your body into an odd or twisted position.

• At first, muscle spasms come and go, so you may blink your eyes, grind your jaw, move your arms, or make other motions

• Later, the affected muscles may stay in spasm so part of your body is stuck in one position

• Dystonia happens when there's overactivity in the parts of your brain that control your muscles

• Dystonia can be inherited or caused by brain disorders or by some medicines

• Doctors will treat the cause of your dystonia and may prescribe pills or injections to help relax your muscles

Dystonia is caused by:

• Overactivity in the parts of your brain that control your muscles

This overactivity can happen because of:

• A problem with a gene you inherit from your parents

• Brain disorders such as cerebral palsy, multiple sclerosis, or a stroke

• Certain medicines

The main symptom is:

• A long-lasting muscle cramp

At first the muscle cramp happens only once in a while or during stress. Over time, the muscle cramp happens more often and lasts longer. The cramping body part may stay in a specific, sometimes painful, position. This can cause disability.

Dystonia can happen in your:

• Eyelid, usually starting as extra blinking, eye discomfort, or extreme sensitivity to bright light

• Neck muscles, causing a twisted, painful neck ("wry neck")

• Vocal cords, causing changes in your ability to speak or the quality of your voice

• Face muscles, which may include uncontrolled blinking, jaw grinding, and odd facial expressions

• Any muscle you overuse—for example, the fingers of a professional pianist

Doctors diagnose dystonia based on your symptoms and a physical exam. There are no tests for dystonia, but doctors may look to see if you have a brain disorder by doing:

• CT (computed tomography) scan

• MRI (magnetic resonance imaging)

Doctors will treat the cause of your dystonia if they can. Other treatments include:

• Medicines, including nerve-blocking medicines and mild sedatives (medicine to relax your body and help you sleep)

• Botulinum toxin shots (Botox®) into the stiff muscle, which will relax it

• Physical therapy

• Sometimes deep brain stimulation (small electrodes placed in your brain to ease repeated muscle cramps)