Writer's cramp
| Writer's cramp | |
|---|---|
| Other names | Focal hand dystonia (FHD), Mogigraphia and Scrivener's palsy |
| Specialty | Orthopedic surgery |
| Usual onset | Mainly adult (30 to 50 years old) |
| Causes | Overuse of writing; genetic |
| Frequency | 7–69 per million population |
Writer's cramp or focal hand dystonia (FHD) is an idiopathic movement disorder of adult onset, characterized by abnormal posturing and movement of the hand and/or forearm during tasks requiring skilled hand use, such as writing.[1][2] Overcontraction of affected muscles, cocontraction of agonist and antagonist pairs, and activation of muscles inappropriate to a task all impair use of the affected hand.[3]
Writer's cramp is a task-specific focal dystonia of the hand.[4] "Focal" refers to the symptoms being limited to one location (the hand in this case), and "task-specific" means that symptoms first occur only when the individual engages in a particular activity. Writer's cramp first affects an individual by interfering with their ability to write, especially for prolonged periods of time.[2]
Epidemiologic studies report a prevalence of 7–69 per million population, or 1 in 15,000–140,000 people,[5] which explains its recognition as a rare disease, like all other forms of dystonia.[6]
- ^ Pearce, J M S (April 2005). "A note on scrivener's palsy". Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery & Psychiatry. 76 (4): 513. doi:10.1136/jnnp.2004.044743. PMC 1739585. PMID 15774437.
- ^ a b Rana, A. Q.; Saeed, U. (September 2012). "Diversity of responses to writer's dystonia: a condition resistant to treatment". West Indian Medical Journal. 61 (6): 650–651. PMID 23441366.
- ^ Karp, B.I. (2017). "Writer's Cramp". Reference Module in Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Psychology. doi:10.1016/B978-0-12-809324-5.00862-2. ISBN 978-0-12-809324-5.
- ^ "Dystonia Medical Research Foundation: Hand Dystonia/Writer's Cramp | Quick Facts". Archived from the original on 2018-11-22. Retrieved 2017-03-26.
- ^ Amouzandeh, Ali; Grossbach, Michael; Hermsdörfer, Joachim; Altenmüller, Eckart (2017-08-08). "Pathophysiology of writer's cramp: an exploratory study on task-specificity and non-motor symptoms using an extended fine-motor testing battery". Journal of Clinical Movement Disorders. 4 13. doi:10.1186/s40734-017-0060-4. ISSN 2054-7072. PMC 5547537. PMID 28794890.
- ^ "Dystonia". NORD (National Organization for Rare Disorders). Retrieved 2020-08-24.