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  • Feb 26, 2007, 08:41 PM
    catangel49ca
    Dystonia, Severe Spasams


    Is it possible for Dystonia of the leg to spread to other parts of the body? A present from a stroke.
  • Mar 9, 2007, 05:17 PM
    Wiglet
    Maybe you could explain a little more about the situation?
  • Mar 9, 2007, 05:23 PM
    J_9
    Here is info about Dystonia from the Mayo Clinic's website.

    Your doctor may refer to certain classifications of dystonia to distinguish how it affects your body:
    • Focal dystonia is limited to muscles in a specific region: a single limb, eyelids, jaw and tongue, vocal cords, or neck.
    • Segmental dystonia affects two or more parts of your body adjacent to each other.
    • Multifocal dystonia affects two or more regions not adjacent to each other.
    • Generalized dystonia affects all or nearly all of your body.
    • Hemidystonia affects only one side of your body.
    For most people, symptoms begin in a single region, but they may spread. Sometimes, they may be linked to a specific action. For example, you may experience involuntary contractions in one leg when walking forward but not when running forward or walking backward.
    Dystonia in a specific region usually progresses so that contractions are more frequent or not limited to a specific kind of action. It may also progress to other regions of the body. Rates of progression vary significantly, but symptoms usually plateau within a few years.
    Stress, fatigue or anxiety may temporarily worsen symptoms. Dystonia may be less apparent when you're relaxed or your limbs are at rest, and the contractions usually cease when you're in a deep sleep.
    The affected region of the body may provide clues to the progression of the disorder. When it begins in a leg, especially during childhood, dystonia is more likely to progress to generalized dystonia. When it begins in a single location in the upper body, it may progress to other regions, but it's not as likely to become generalized.
    The age of onset itself offers clues to progression. If the disorder appears in childhood or early adolescence, it's quite likely to progress to generalized dystonia, but dystonias developing well into adulthood rarely generalize to the whole body.
    The impact of dystonia on a person's quality of life varies depending on the part of the body affected and the severity of contractions. For example, dystonia of the eyelids, with rapid blinking or squinting, can be so severe as to make a person functionally blind. Dystonia of the neck muscles may cause severe pain. Dystonia of the jaw and tongue muscles may cause slurred speech or difficulty eating or swallowing. Severe dystonia in the limbs or the neck can result in contracture of tendons and permanent distortion in posture.
    Some types of dystonia are limited to a specific, repetitive task. Common versions of this include writer's cramp or musician's cramp, the involuntary and often painful contraction of the hand and arm muscles used in writing or playing an instrument.
    For a few people with dystonia, symptoms may go away or become extremely mild for a period of months or years, but the symptoms usually reappear.

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