Posted by Steve Dedman on August 08, 2003 at 07:56:04:
In Reply to: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Tastes... posted by Wade on August 07, 2003 at 18:43:21:
It's not a face-only thing. String players are affected in their (Usually) left hand. Non-musicians can be affected in just about any part of their body; from a mild twitch in their eyelid to complete loss of use of entire limbs.
Also found the following link to a US Gov't trial study into the "tricks" that FD patients use to overcome the malady.
Also found these definitions on the Universiteit Stellenbosch web site from South Africa (http://www.sun.ac.za/neurology/lectures/movement.htm):
3.2 Focal Dystonia
(i) Torticollis: In adults this is usually a focal or segmental dystonia; the head is tilted to one side, and there are often superimposed intermittent jerks. It can be extremely disabling and difficult to treat; anticholinergics are often used initially. Currently injections of Botulinum toxin into the contracting muscle gives relief, although the effect may last only a few months before having to be repeated.
(ii) Cranial Dystonia:
Blepharospasm: spasms of involuntary eye closure
Hemifacial spasm: spasm of the side of the face
Oromandibular Dystonia: spasms of muscles around the face, mouth and tongue.
Laryngeal: forced spasm of laryngeal muscles.
Treatment is as for torticollis,
(Note: Benign eyelid twitching: This is a very common intermittent fasciculation-like twitching of eyelid associated with fatigue and stress)
(iii) Isolated focal dystonia related to work activities:
The best known of these is writer's cramp; it is a stiffness and slowness of the hand when writing. These are frequently abnormal postures of the fingers and wrist. It usually begins in the thirties. Patients may go on to develop difficulty with shaving or applying cosmetics (progressive writer's cramp). Numerous other examples of this form of focal dystonia occur, particularly in musicians and sportsmen. These are important causes of occupational disability.