Neuropathy "The Painful Enigma"

Movement disorders are health issues that can cause abnormal and involuntary body movements. Many common movement disorders are frequently caused by problems in the transmission signals of the brain and they can ultimately affect quality, fluency, speed, and ease of movement. Movement disorders are also referred to as conversion disorders and/or psychogenic movement disorders. Damage, injuries or underlying conditions of the brain, spinal cord, and nervous system don’t necessarily cause movement disorders. We will discuss the most common movement disorders, including:    

• Tremor: also known as an essential tremor or a resting tremor.
• Ataxia: characterized by “jerky” movements and coordination problems.
• Dystonia: characterized by abnormal, involuntary, and prolonged muscle contractions.
• Huntington’s disease: also known as chronic progressive chorea.
• Parkinson’s disease: one of the most “well-known” movement disorders, associated with tremor.
• Multiple system atrophies: also known as Shy-Drager syndrome.
• Myoclonus: characterized by rapid, brief, and irregular movements.
• Tourette’s syndrome: another “well-known” movement disorder, associated with repetitive or unwanted sounds and movements.
• Wilson’s disease: also known as an inherited health issue, associated with common symptoms and liver disease.
• Progressive supranuclear palsy: also known as a rare health issue that affects movement.

Movement disorders are characterized as health issues that cause abnormal and involuntary body positions or movements. Many neurological conditions are caused by brain signal problems and they can ultimately affect quality, fluency, speed, and ease of movement. Dyskinesia is characterized as abnormal and involuntary fluency and/or speed of movement while hyperkinesia is characterized as excessive movement and hypokinesia is characterized as slow or absent, abnormal and involuntary movements. Movement disorders are also referred to as conversion disorders and/or psychogenic movement disorders.   Injuries or underlying conditions to the brain, spinal cord, and nervous system don’t always cause movement disorders. Movement disorders can include:  

• Tics, characterized as abnormal and/or involuntary contractions of the muscles,
• Tremor, also referred to as a resting tremor or essential tremor,
• Ataxia, characterized by “jerky” movements and coordination problems,
• Dystonia, characterized as abnormal and/or involuntary, generally prolonged contractions of the muscles,
• Huntington’s disease, also referred to as chronic progressive chorea,
• Parkinson’s disease, a well-known movement disorder, including tremors,
• Multiple system atrophies, also referred to as Shy-Drager syndrome,
• Restless legs syndrome (RLS) and reflex sympathetic dystrophy/periodic limb movement disorder (RSD/PLMD),
• Myoclonus, characterized by rapid, brief, irregular movements,
• Tourette’s syndrome, another well-known movement disorder, including repetitive or unwanted sounds and movements,
• Wilson disease, known as an inherited health issue that causes a variety of symptoms and liver disease, and
• Progressive supranuclear palsy, characterized as a rare health issue that affects movement.

As previously mentioned in the list above, tics are a well-known, movement disorder characterized by abnormal and/or involuntary contractions of the muscles that can ultimately affect an individual’s regular physical activities as well as their overall quality of life. Tics are generally triggered by a powerful urge or sensation that is temporarily relieved after the contraction of the muscles. Several examples of common tics can involve the following, including:  

• Twitching of the face,
• Clearing of the throat,
• Grunting,
• Sighing,
• Blinking, and/or
• Shrugging of the shoulders.

Dystonia can include spasmodic torticollis, characterized by abnormal and/or involuntary movements of the eyelids, face, head, neck, and blepharospasm.   Tourette’s syndrome is another well-known movement disorder characterized as a health issue that causes a variety of vocal and motor tics or repetitive contractions of the muscles. Common symptoms of Tourette’s syndrome generally manifest during childhood and/or early adolescence and they can commonly vary in severity and frequency. Patients diagnosed with Tourette’s syndrome can also ultimately develop a variety of other behavioral problems, including inattention, hyperactivity, impulsivity, compulsions, and obsessions. A diagnosis is necessary to determine the presence of Tourette’s syndrome.