Yesterday a patient asked me a question about dystonia: what are the symptoms of the later stages of torsional spasm? As I understand it, I’ll give you an overview.
Dystonia or torsional spasm may be divided into different stages according to the severity of the process, but not every patient will develop according to these stages, because dystonia is not strictly speaking an absolutely progressive disease, some patients may stay at a certain stage for life, while others may continue to develop. The determination of the severity of dystonia is related to two main factors. One is the number of body sites in which the dystonia symptoms manifest, whether they are limited, segmental or generalized or multifocal. The other is the trigger that causes the dystonia manifestation, that is, the conditions under which the dystonia patient will show the dystonia symptoms, such as in action, sitting, a certain activity or in a quiet state. According to the following table, patients can study themselves.
Schedule – general progression of dystonia (torsional spasm type) (based on relevant books and literature)
Course of disease development: the earliest stage
Site of disease: One part of the body (focal dystonia)
Age of predilection: most adult-onset dystonia is stable in this state
Main manifestations: such as blepharospasm, spastic squint, writing spasms, orofacial dystonia, etc.; generally not present in the quiet state, but easily caused by a particular movement.
Next stage
Continues to develop in adjacent areas, if there are two or more adjacent areas of the body (segmental dystonia)
Many adult and adolescent onset dystonias stabilize at this stage.
Many movements of the limb in the affected area can cause the manifestation of symptoms or exacerbate the manifestation of symptoms.
The next stage
Continues to progress and other parts of the body begin to be involved (generalized dystonia or multifocal dystonia)
Many dystonias that start in children will progress to this stage.
Other parts of the body (including speech) may trigger the onset of dystonia symptoms.
Next stage
Severe dystonia movement or posture and affects function
Dystonia can occur even in the quiet state and can be spastic or tonic dystonia
Next stage
Dystonia also occurs during quiet and light sleep
Most severe
Dystonia in a fixed position
The examiner has difficulty moving the limb or other involved parts