DYSTONIA

What is it?

Dystonia is a muscle problem which makes parts of your body keep moving repetitively or get fixed in unusual positions. You do not pass out and it doesn't affect your awareness or sensation.

Who gets it?

We do not know what causes most kinds of dystonia. You can inherit a tendency to get dystonia. Taking certain medicines makes you more likely to suffer from it - at least while you are taking them. You may also start to suffer from it after you have a head injury, a brain tumour or an infection affecting the brain.

What causes it?

Dystonia is caused by some of your muscles contracting repeatedly or going into spasm. We do not know exactly what makes this happen.

What are the symptoms?

Dystonia can affect many parts of your body - sometimes always the same part of your body, sometimes different parts at different times. If your condition is caused by medication, your jaw or tongue may feel tight before you suddenly start twisting your neck, pulling faces, sticking your tongue out, blinking and looking around wildly. It is often especially upsetting because you are aware of what you are doing but have no control over it. In other cases, your feet or hands might go into spasm, making walking or writing difficult. Sometimes the spasms will affect part or all of your face, giving you a tic, which can be made worse if you are nervous.

When should I go to my GP?

As soon as you start to get repeated muscle spasms which you cannot control, you should make an appointment with your GP. This condition can often be treated and, while it rarely suggests there is something more serious going on, you should never ignore it.

What tests will my Doctor want to do?

Your doctor will want to know details of the medicines you are taking, and will want to examine you. There are no blood tests or X-rays to help your doctor confirm the diagnosis. Your GP will probably refer you to the hospital outpatient clinic to see a specialist called a neurologist.

What is the short-term treatment?

This depends on what is causing your condition. If it is due to your medication, your doctor may want to stop the medicine or medicines - although this will depend upon how much you need them, and whether there is another you can have that will not cause the same problems. Your doctor may give you other tablets to help your symptoms. It is difficult to say which of the medicines used to treat dystonia will work best for you, so you may have to try more than one. You may need to have injections into the muscles that are affected.

Will I need long-term treatment?

This again depends on what is causing your symptoms. If it is due to your medication and you can be taken off this medicine or changed to another kind, your symptoms may gradually settle down. Otherwise, you may need to have an injection every few months when your symptoms get bad. Dystonia is sometimes made worse by being under stress, so you should try to avoid getting stressed.