AANEM is proud to help increase understanding about dystonia during Dystonia Awareness Month!
What is Dystonia?
Dystonia is a movement disorder with sustained abnormal contraction of muscles resulting in abnormal posture of the involved body parts. It can affect different parts of the body including the neck, hand, foot, and back. It may affect a group of muscles or the body.
Dystonia is usually classified by the part of the body involved or the action involved. Examples of body parts involved in with dystonias are blepharospasm (involvement of the eyelid muscles), Oromandibular dystonia (involvement of the face, jaw and/ or tongue, and combination of these, as known as oral facial dystonia or Meige’s syndrome), torticollis (neck), focal limb dystonia (arm or leg). Task specific dystonias include writer’s and musician’s cramps. These last two types of dystonia usually involve just one type of activity, while other limb activities are not involved.
As a disease, dystonia is felt to involve the basal ganglia, a part of the brain involved in the planning and execution of voluntary movements. Because the brain cells are not communicating correctly, excessive muscle contraction occurs resulting in the abnormal movements. Dystonia can also be part of other diseases such as Parkinson's disease, or as a reaction to certain medications.
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Make a Donation
During September, as we recognize Dystonia Awareness Month, consider making a
donation to the AANEM Foundation. Your donation will fund scientific research to help find treatments and cures for neuromuscular diseases, like dystonia.
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