Involuntary muscle contractions that occur spontaneously and are accompanied by abnormal position of body parts, uncharacteristic motor activity, often affect children, but also occur in adults. Muscular dystonia is primary or idiopathic in 90% of cases. The remaining 10% relate to a secondary type of pathology.
Causes of muscular dystonia syndrome
Most often, the disease under consideration in the primary form develops against a background of genetic predisposition and begins to progress in early childhood.
Secondary dystonia has the following reasons:
- multiple sclerosis;
- cerebral paralysis;
- drug dystonic syndrome;
- encephalitis;
- Wilson-Konovalov's disease ;
- oncological pathologies;
- Huntington's disease;
- Gallerwarden-Spatz syndrome.
Symptoms of muscular dystonia in adults
Early signs of the disease include:
- rare occurrence of cramps in the legs;
- stiffness of muscles;
- deterioration of handwriting;
- involuntary twisting of the neck;
- numbness of the legs after a long walk and physical exertion;
- frequent blinking of the eyes.
In the future, the following clinical manifestations are noted:
- tremor of hands and head;
- pain in muscles and cramping spasms;
- pathological postures (arching of the spine, plantar flexion, podvorachivanie stop);
- constant motor activity of the lower jaw;
- deviation of the head and neck in the right and left side;
- screwing up your eyes;
- reduction of chewing muscles;
- strained, deaf or squeaky voice;
- spasmodic torticollis;
- speech impairment.
It is worth noting that the described disease refers to incurable ailments and is constantly progressing. The goal of therapeutic effects is to alleviate symptoms, improve motor activity and a stable remission of pathology.
Treatment of muscular dystonia
An integrated approach to solving the problem includes:
Conservative (medicamentous) treatment. Supposes the administration of dopaminergic, anticholinergic and GABAergic drugs aimed at normalizing metabolic processes in neurons. - Injection of botulinum toxin. Small doses of this substance block muscle spasms, prevent the body from taking unnatural poses.
- Deep stimulation of the brain by means of special electrodes.
- Physiotherapy exercises, a set of gymnastic exercises.
- Manual therapy, massage.