About Dystonia



Dystonia is a neurological movement disorder. Faulty signals from the brain cause muscles to spasm and pull on the body incorrectly. This forces the body into twisting, repetitive movements or abnormal postures. Sometimes the symptoms are accompanied by dystonic tremor.

Unfortunately there is not yet a cure. However, in the vast majority of cases, dystonia does not shorten a person's life span. Dystonia is thought to originate in part of the brain called the basal ganglia.

Treatments are available and most people do manage to develop successful strategies for living with dystonia combining treatment with pain control and sensory tricks to help with social situations. Remission from symptoms does sometimes occur but is rare – occurring in around 5-10% of cases.

Dystonia which starts in adult life usually remains focal to one part of the body. If dystonia starts in childhood, it tends to spread across multiple parts of the body. Click here to learn more about specific types of dystonia.

Managing dystonia


Focal dystonias

These dystonias are limited to specific parts of the body. Symptoms generally appear between the ages of 30 and 50 (except eye dystonia where they usually start between ages 50 and 70) although sometimes symptoms can appear earlier or later. Generally, focal dystonias starting in adulthood affect only one part of the body. If they spread at all, which is unlikely, it is usually only to one other area (if this happens it is called a segmental or multifocal dystonia). The progress of focal dystonia is unpredictable with symptoms varying from day to day. Typically, a focal dystonia will progress gradually over a five-year period and then progress no further.  Common focal dystonias include:

Dystonias affecting multiple parts of the body

There are a number of different types of dystonia that affect more than one part of the body. In These usually start in childhood or early adulthood and include:

Acquired dystonias

Acquired dystonias (which used to be known as secondary dystonias) are dystonias caused by damage or degeneration of the brain or abnormal response to certain medications. There are more than 50 causes of secondary dystonia which include:

Functional dystonia


Dystonia and pain

Some people with dystonia report experiencing pain while others report none. Pain is most commonly experienced by those with neck dystonia and/or generalised dystonia although some people with other types also report experiencing pain. To read more about managing pain click here.

Dystonia and mental health


However, it is also increasingly understood, that although mental health conditions do not normally cause dystonia, there can be an important inter-relationship in some cases between dystonia and mental health conditions such as stress, depression and anxiety.  This relationship can be two way. Click here to read more about dystonia and mental health.


Last reviewed July 2013
