The symptoms of dystonia can vary depending on the form of dystonia that you have. Some forms of dystonia and their associated symptoms are described below.
Cervical dystonia
Cervical dystonia is the most common form of dystonia. It is a type of focal (it only affects one body part) late-onset dystonia that affects the muscles in your neck. Cervical dystonia is also sometimes known as torticollis.
Contractions and spasms in your neck muscles can lead to symptoms such as:
- your head and neck twisting,
- your head and neck being pulled forward,
- your head and neck being pulled backwards, and
- your head and neck being pulled from side to side.
The symptoms of cervical dystonia can range from mild to severe. The symptoms of muscle spasms and contractions can lead to the additional symptoms of neck pain and stiffness.
The symptoms of cervical dystonia can often be relieved by touching your chin, neck, or the back of your head. The reasons for this are unclear.
Blepharospasm
Blepharospasm is a type of focal, late-onset dystonia that affects the muscles around your eyes.
Symptoms of blepharospam include:
- eye irritation,
- sensitivity to light (photophobia),
- uncontrollable blinking, and
- uncontrollable closing of the eyes - in the most severe cases, a person is unable to open their eyes for several minutes, effectively making them blind for short periods of time.
If you have blepharospasm, the pattern of your symptoms can vary over the course of a day. You may find that you have no, or few, symptoms when you wake up in the morning, and that your symptoms get worse when you are tired or under stress.
Dopa-responsive dystonia
Dopa-responsive dystonia is a type of generalised, early-onset dystonia. The term ‘dopa-responsive’ is used because this type of dystonia is known to respond well to treatment with a medication called levodopa.
The symptoms of dopa-responsive dystonia usually begin during childhood, between 6-16 years of age. The most common symptom is an abnormal, stiff way of walking. The sole of the foot can also bend upwards, or the foot may turn outwards at the ankle.
Some people with dopa-responsive dystonia may also experience muscle stiffness and spasms in their arms and torso.
Hemifacial spasm
Hemifacial spasm is a type of focal, late-onset dystonia that causes the muscles on one side of the face to spasm. You may find that this symptom is more prominent and troublesome when you are tired or under stress.
Laryngeal dystonia
Laryngeal dystonia is a type of focal, late-onset dystonia that causes the muscles of the larynx (voice box) to spasm depending on whether the muscles of the larynx are spasming outwards or inwards.
This can cause your voice to take on either a ‘strangled’ quality or, alternatively, a very quiet, ‘breathy’ quality.
Myoclonus dystonia
Myoclonus dystonia is a rare type of segmental, late-onset dystonia that affects the muscles in the arms, neck, and torso (the upper part of the body excluding the head and limbs). It causes sudden, ‘jerk-like’ spasms that are very similar in appearance to the spasms that someone has when they get an electric shock.
Oromandibular dystonia
Oromandibular dystonia is a type of segmental, late-onset dystonia that affects the muscles in the mouth and jaw. This can cause your mouth to pull outwards and upwards.
In some cases, symptoms will only occur when you are using your mouth, such as while eating and talking. In other cases, symptoms can occur when you are not using your mouth, and you may find that talking and chewing actually improves your symptoms.
If you have oromandibular dystonia, you may also experience swallowing difficulties (dysphagia).
Writer’s cramp
Writer’s cramp is a type of late-onset, focal dystonia that causes involuntary cramps and movements in the muscles of the arm and wrist. As the name suggests, writer’s cramp usually affects people who do a lot of writing, so this type of dystonia is known as task-specific dystonia.
Other less well known types of task-specific dystonia include:
- musician’s cramp ,
- golfer’s cramp, and
- typist’s cramp.
Generalised dystonia
Generalised dystonia is a type of early-onset dystonia that usually begins around the time that a child reaches puberty. The symptoms of generalised dystonia usually begin in one of the limbs before spreading to other parts of the body.
Symptoms of generalised dystonia include:
- muscle spasms,
- the limbs, or torso can take on an abnormal, twisted posture,
- a foot, leg, or arm, can turn inwards, and
- body parts can jerk rapidly.
Paroxysmal dystonia
Paroxysmal dystonia is a rare type of dystonia where the symptoms of muscle spasms and unusual body movement only occur at certain times. The rest of the time you remain symptom-free.
The symptoms of paroxysmal dystonia can resemble some of the physical symptoms of an epileptic seizure (fit). The sudden onset of symptoms is known as an attack. During an attack, only your muscles will be affected. Unlike epilepsy, you will not lose consciousness and you will remain fully aware of your surroundings. Attacks can last anywhere from a few minutes to several hours.
You may find that certain situations or substances can trigger an attack including:
- stress,
- fatigue,
- alcohol,
- coffee, and/or
- sudden movement.
