Health conditions that cause increased and/or slow movement are called movement disorders, and they often negatively affect the actions you choose to make or cause uncontrolled movements. The most common movement disorders include Parkinson’s disease, essential tremor, and restless leg syndrome, but people may develop other types of movement disorders.
In other words, movement disorders are a group of health conditions that cause abnormal movements, including spasms, jerking, shaking, or slow movement. Generally, each movement you make involves a complex communication between the motor nerves, skeletal muscles, and the central nervous system that includes the brain and spinal cord. Anything that causes damage to these body parts may cause a movement disorder.
Generally, there are multiple types of movement disorders, and they also vary in severity from mild to severe. Moreover, people may develop muscle disorders that negatively affect only a part of the body or several areas of the body. In any case, you should know that paralysis (a lack of movement) or weakened muscles (such as muscular dystrophy) are not considered movement disorders.
Types of Movement Disorders
Physicians have divided this condition into several types. These include:
- Essential tremor – This condition causes certain parts of the body to shake, and these movements cannot be controlled. Most of the time, essential tremor impacts the hands and arms, but it may also affect your voice, head, and other parts of the body.
- Huntington’s disease – This is a genetic disorder that causes uncontrollable movements (also known as chorea) that often worsen over time. It negatively affects the brain, and the symptoms it causes often affect the hands, face, and feet.
- Multiple system atrophy (MSA) – This is also a rare disease that affects certain parts of the brain and causes ataxia and Parkinsonism.
- Parkinson’s disease – It is also a brain condition that causes unwanted and uncontrollable movements. Moreover, people with Parkinson’s disease may also experience cognitive decline and problems with balance and coordination.
- Periodic limb movement disorder (PLMD) – This type of movement disorder causes repetitive limb movements that may occur even while you are sleeping. That’s why people with PLMD may also develop sleep disorders. Most of the time, PLMD affects the lower extremities, including the big toe, ankle, knee, and hip.
- Progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP) – This is a rare neurodegenerative disease that causes damage to certain parts of the brain. Usually, people with PSP have walking problems, dysphagia, and uncontrollable eye movements.
- Restless leg syndrome (RLS) – This is a sleep disease that causes an intense urge to move the legs (sometimes, the arms and body). Commonly, RLS appears along with other sensations in the limbs, including creeping, tugging, pulling, throbbing, itching, aching, burning, and others.
Additional Types of Movement Disorders
- Rett syndrome – This genetic condition that occurs quite rarely may also affect the coordination of the hands and speech.
- Tardive dyskinesia – While it is difficult to determine the exact cause of this disorder, some people develop it due to prolonged use of antipsychotic medicines. Commonly, it causes involuntary facial tics and uncontrollable movements (such as lip-smacking).
- Tourette syndrome – This is another neurological disease that negatively affects the nerves and brain. As a result, it causes sudden movements or sounds that occur along with ADHD (attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder), anxiety, and, most of the time, with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD).
- Wilson disease – This condition occurs quite rarely, and it occurs when there is a buildup of copper in the body (especially in the liver and brain). It usually causes muscle stiffness, tremors, and movements that cannot be controlled.
What Are The Types of Abnormal Movements?
Healthcare providers have divided abnormal movements into 2 types: hyperkinetic movements and hypokinetic movements. Some movement disorders may have both of these.
Hyperkinetic Movement
This type of abnormal movement involves increased movement, and it may cause either voluntary or involuntary movements. Check some types of hyperkinetic movement below:
- Akathisia – This type often makes it difficult to sit or remain still due to inner restlessness. Commonly, akathisia is associated with certain types of medicines (including antipsychotics).
- Ataxia – It causes problems with coordination, which may cause you to move in an uncertain or awkward way. Commonly, ataxia is a symptom of another condition.
- Chorea and athetosis – In general, a movement disorder that causes unpredictable and involuntary muscle movements is called chorea. It often causes you to look like you are restless, dancing, or agitated. Commonly, it is present in people with Huntington’s disease. Moreover, a continuous stream or slow and twisting motions that affect the hands and feet is called athetosis.
- Ballism – This type of hyperkinetic movement involves more intense movements. For example, forceful flinging of one arm or leg.
- Dystonia – In such cases, it causes sustained or intermittent muscle contractions, which often lead to repetitive and abnormal movements or postures. Moreover, it is a common symptom in people with neurodegenerative disorders and cerebral palsy.
- Myoclonus – It causes mild and involuntary muscle jerking or twitching. Those who experience myoclonic twitches or jerks often have unexpectedly tight or relaxed muscles.
Additional Types
- Spasticity – This form of hyperkinetic movement occurs when there are problems with the muscle movement patterns. Thus, it causes muscle contractions when you move or even rest. It may also negatively affect your speech and gait.
- Stereotypies (also called stereotypic movements) – This is a complex type that often causes abnormal movements on both sides of the body. For example, rocking, hand flapping, pacing, and body clenching. Furthermore, stereotypies can be a symptom of Rett syndrome and autism spectrum disorder.
- Tics – This type also causes repetitive and nonrhythmic movements. These include face scrunching, head jerking, throat clearing, blinking, and others. Mostly, tics appear in people with Tourette’s syndrome, but may also occur in people with other disorders as well.
- Tremor – It causes involuntary shaking or trembling movements that often affect only one part of the body. People often experience tremors when muscles contract and relax multiple times.
Hypokinetic Movement
This form of abnormal movements often causes slow and decreased movements. One of the primary types of hypokinetic movement is Parkinsonism. Generally, this is a group of brain disorders that refer to slowed movements, rigidity (stiffness), tremor, or problems with balance. Most of the time, neurodegenerative Parkinsonism occurs along with Parkinson’s disease, but it may also be a part of one of the following disorders. These include:
- Progressive supranuclear palsy
- Lewy body dementia
- Corticobasal degeneration
- Multiple system atrophy
In general, there are multiple reasons for Parkinsonism. These include long-term use of psychiatric medicines, a lack of blood flow to certain parts of the brain, exposure to toxic substances, multiple head injuries, and others. Additionally, some people may also experience bradykinesia, which is another type of hypokinetic movement. It is usually a primary sign of Parkinson’s disease.
What Are The Symptoms of Movement Disorders?
Typically, people with movement disorders experience different symptoms. While all types of movement disorders cause abnormal movements, some people may also experience mood swings and other symptoms. Check some general symptoms below:
- Frequent episodes of uncontrolled movement, including spasms, tremors, jerks, twisting, twitches, and shaking
- Walking problems
- Gait changes
- Rigidity and stiffness of the trunk and limbs
- Difficulty performing daily tasks (such as swallowing, speaking, writing, and others)
- Balance and coordination problems
Some types of movement disorders may affect only one part of the body. Other types may affect multiple parts of the body. These include head, neck, feet and toes, voice, trunk and posture, hands and fingers, limbs, and facial muscles.
Causes
Mostly, movement disorders develop due to damage or malfunction of specific parts of the brain responsible for controlling movements. These include:
- Primary motor cortex – This is a strip of brain tissue located in the frontal lobe, which is responsible for controlling voluntary movements. When damage happens to this part of the brain, a person may have involuntary movement that cannot be controlled. It may also cause myoclonus, spasticity, and problems with fine motor movements.
- Basal ganglia – This part of the brain controls the beginning and smooths out voluntary muscle movements. It also suppresses involuntary movements and may also coordinate posture changes. When something damages the basal ganglia, it may lead to athetosis, dystonia, Parkinsonism, and chorea.
- Cerebellum – This is a brain structure located at the base of the brain. It is responsible for coordinating movements and helps limbs move smoothly and accurately. It also helps maintain balance. Problems with the cerebellum usually cause loss of coordination.
- Thalamus – This is an egg-shaped structure in the deeper part of the brain, which controls all incoming motor and sensory information. When it is damaged, a person may experience tremors and motor impairments.
The previous parts of the brain can be damaged by the following things and health conditions. Check some examples below:
- Traumatic brain injury
- Genetic disorders
- Certain infections
- Stroke
- Vascular diseases
- Acquired or inherited metabolic disorders
- Prolonged exposure to toxins and chemicals
- Medicine adverse reactions
While some movement disorders have a single cause and can be identified by doctors, the causes of other types of movement disorders remain unknown. In such cases, the condition is called an idiopathic movement disorder.
Diagnosis
Usually, it is challenging to diagnose a movement disorder. In any case, the diagnosis starts with a physical examination to check for irregularities linked to the disease. Physicians may also ask some questions about your symptoms and medical history to gather more information about your condition. However, to confirm or rule out movement disorders, they will perform some tests and procedures. These include:
- Blood tests – These tests are used to rule out other disorders that may cause symptoms similar to movement disorders.
- Electromyography (EMG) – This test helps assess the health of the muscles and nerves connected to them.
- Electroencephalogram (EEG) – Doctors often use this test to check the electrical activity of the brain.
- Lumbar puncture (also called a spinal tap) – During this procedure, doctors will take a sample of cerebrospinal fluid for testing.
- Muscle biopsy – This test helps determine whether the symptoms are caused by nerve or muscle disorders. During this test, physicians will take a small sample of the muscle for testing.
- Nerve conduction study – It helps measure the flow of electrical current through the muscle nerves.
- Imaging tests – Doctors use the following tests to get detailed images of different structures and organs in the body (including the brain, spinal cord, and nerves). They often perform MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) scans or CT (computerized tomography) scans.
Treatment
In general, physicians prescribe different treatments for people who develop movement disorders because they depend on some factors. For example, the type and severity of the condition, gender, age, and preferences. Check some treatments below:
- Medicines – Doctors usually prescribe muscle relaxants, anxiety medicines, or dopaminergic medicines to relieve the symptoms, including spasticity, dystonia, and others.
- Physical therapy – During this therapy, doctors will teach you specific physical exercises that may help improve the symptoms.
- Occupational therapy – This treatment helps improve the ability to perform daily activities (such as writing, reading, and others).
- Mobility aids – These include wheelchairs, canes, walkers, and others.
- Speech therapy – Some people with movement disorders may develop speaking problems. This therapy helps people regain language skills and swallowing ability.
- Psychotherapy – This therapy is also known as talk therapy, and it is primarily used to treat mental disorders (such as depression or anxiety).
- Botulinum toxin injections – Doctors may prescribe these injections to relax muscles, which often help relieve the symptoms.
- Deep brain stimulation – This is a type of surgery often prescribed by doctors for people with advanced Parkinson’s disease. Sometimes, it helps reduce involuntary movements.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I know if I have a movement disorder?
Generally, all people have uncontrollable movements at times, including random muscle twitches, hypnic jerks, or hiccups. However, a movement disorder often causes prolonged symptoms. Do not hesitate to see a doctor if you or your child has a consistent change in movement.
What is the most common movement disorder?
Most of the time, people develop Parkinson’s disease and essential tremor. For more details, discuss it with your physician.
Is dystonia a disability?
Yes, this movement disorder is considered a disability because it causes involuntary muscle contractions, pain, and abnormal posture. These symptoms usually affect major life activities. If you have any other questions, ask your healthcare provider.
