By James Gaffney, MD
Dystonia is a neurologic movement disorder characterized by involuntary, sustained, patterned, repetitive muscle contractions, usually of opposing muscles. These contractions, which typically affect the same group of muscles in any given individual, cause unwanted movements or abnormal postures. A person with cervical dystonia or spasmodic torticollis, for example, might experience repeated turning or tilting of the head to one side due to involuntary contractions of the neck muscles. These uncontrollable muscle spasms can result in considerable pain, as well as difficulty maintaining head position. The current thinking about dystonia is that it is not a disease of the muscle, spinal cord, or nerve roots, but rather a primary brain disease having to do with processing movement and motor control.