Dystonia is a movement disorder that causes the body to go into spasm. Its causes are not fully understood, but seem to be related to changes in the basal ganglia area of the brain, an area affected by Parkinson’s disease.
The signals that the basal ganglia send to the muscles become irregular, often due to reduced dopamine levels. These messages cause opposing muscles to contract simultaneously and repeatedly over a prolonged period of time and results in painful involuntary twisting and problems controlling movement.
Dystonia can affect:
According to the Dystonia Medical Research Centre in Canada and the Bachmann-Strauss Dystonia & Parkinson Foundation in the US, dystonia is estimated to affect between 300,000 and 500,000 people in North America – a third of which are children. The Dystonia Society estimates there are at least 40,000 people living with dystonia in the UK, of which 2,000 are under the age of 16.