Movement Disorders
What are movement disorders?
Movement disorders are neurologic conditions that cause abnormal movements. Abnormal movements can include:
Apraxia: difficulty performing a motor action even though your brain knows what to do. An example of this may be shuffling while walking or feeling like your feet are “stuck” to the ground.
Ataxia: uncoordinated movements of the limbs or while walking. Sometimes described as a “drunk gait”.
Chorea: involuntary movements of the hands, arms, legs, or face, that is often jerky or spastic in nature.
Dyskinesia: involuntary movements in one or multiple parts of the body including the face and mouth.
Dystonia: involuntary twisting or tightening of the muscles; these may be painful and can interfere with daily activities.
Tics: vocal noises or movements that occur spontaneously and repetitively and are hard to control.
Tremors: involuntary trembling or shaking movements that may be in one or more parts of the body. These can occur at rest or when performing an action.
There are many different movement disorders in which abnormal movements occur either alone or in clusters. Some of the more common types of movement disorders include:
Parkinson's disease: can cause resting tremors, slowness of movement or trouble walking, stiffness, and/or dystonia.
Essential Tremor (aka Familial Tremor): tremor that primarily occurs when performing an action like eating or drinking. This often occurs in the hands but can also occur in the head and neck. This type of tremor tends to run in families.
Tardive Dyskinesia: involuntary movements of the face, mouth, tongue, trunk or limbs. Facial movements may include lip smacking, tongue protrusion or pursing of the lips.
Tourette’s Syndrome: a condition involving motor or vocal tics. Stress or anxiety can make these worse.
Huntington's disease: an inherited disease that leads to the deterioration and dysfunction of nerve cells in certain parts of the brain. Chorea is a common abnormal movement seen in Huntington’s disease.
How are movement disorders treated?
The treatment of movement disorders depends on the symptoms and their cause. Most conditions are managed with a combination of medication and other non-medication therapies like physical therapy, speech therapy, etc. Some conditions, like Parkinson’s disease, essential tremor or dystonia may also be managed with Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) therapy, High-Frequency Ultrasound therapy and Gamma-Knife Radiation therapy, in which our movement team specializes. Our movement specialists will be able to discuss appropriate treatment options with you after a thorough history-taking and physical/neurological examination.