Dystonia Treatment

Cervical dystonia affects nerves supplying the neck and/or shoulder muscles resulting in twisting and repetitive movements. This causes the muscles to be held in abnormal positions that are typically quite painful. In some cases, they may be associated with some tremor.

Dystonia is likely to be caused by the dysfunction of a related brain region, basal ganglia, although the ultimate cause is not known. Therefore, further research is required to determine the various genetic, environmental or other underlying factors that may cause dystonia.

Dystonia affects different people in varying ways.

Blepharospasm: Involuntary contractions of muscles around the eyes, that cause excessive blinking and spasms of eye closure

Cervical Dystonia: Is uncontrollable and often painful muscle contractions in the neck causing awkward postures and discomfort

Oromandibular (Jaw or Tongue): Affects the lower facial and jaw muscles causing difficulty opening or closing the mouth, often affecting speech and chewing.

Laryngeal Dystonia: Affects the vocal cords through involuntary spasms. These involuntary spasms of the vocal cords causes the voice to change in quality

Limb Dystonia: Causes involuntary movements, cramps or tremor in the hand or arm muscles usually when making hand movements such as handwriting and playing a musical instrument.

Foot Dystonia: Foot dystonia is uncontrollable and often painful muscle contractions in the foot which causes a twisting or turning of the foot.

The exact cause of dystonia isn’t known. However, Dystonia also can be a symptom of another disease or condition, including:

At Dementech Neurosciences, our expert neurologists will provide a comprehensive assessment of the type and severity of this movement disorder for your individual case. To ensure an accurate diagnosis we will test extensively to form a complete picture of every patient’s condition stage.

The treatment includes small amounts of fillers that are injected in the muscles. This is done so that they can block nerve signals that tell the muscles to contract. The effect of the treatment is temporary and lasts for about 12 weeks. Results might vary based on the individual case. Our team of doctors have broad experience in injections and can very effectively treat these disabling movement disorders.

Therapeutic injections are used to treat certain types of dystonia.

These injections work by blocking the signals that are sent from the nerve cells to the muscles.  When these signals are blocked, the release of acetylcholine is prevented.

When the release of acetylcholine is blocked, the affected muscles are unable to contract.  Patients treated with therapeutic injections can feel the effects from three days to two weeks following treatments, with the effects lasting approximately 3 months.