Dystonia: Involuntary Muscle Contractions, Causes and Treatment

Dystonia is a movement disorder in which your muscles contract involuntarily. The contractions cause twisting, repeated movements, and they are sometimes painful. Dystonia can affect a single muscle, a group of muscles, or all of them.

Symptoms

Symptoms can include:

• tremors;
• voice problems;
• a dragging foot.

They often begin in childhood, but they can also start in the late teens or early adulthood. Some cases get worse over time; others stay mild.

Causes

• Inherited: some people inherit dystonia.
• From another disease: in others it results from a different illness.

Researchers think dystonia may come from a problem in the part of the brain that handles messages about muscle contractions.

Treatment

There is no cure. To reduce or stop muscle spasms and pain, doctors use:

• medicines;
• Botox injections;
• surgery;
• physical therapy;
• other treatments.

Sources

• MedlinePlus, U.S. National Library of Medicine, "Dystonia," drawing on the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NIH). https://medlineplus.gov/dystonia.html
• Rewritten in hubnx's own words.