Abstract
Focal dystonia in musicians, known as musician’s cramp or musician’s dystonia, is a task-specific movement disorder which causes a loss of muscular coordination and voluntary motor control of extensively trained, highly skilled movements while playing a musical instrument (see Chap. 55). Musician’s dystonia may be classified according to the musical tasks which are affected. Embouchure dystonia affects the coordination of lips, tongue, and facial and cervical muscles in brass and wind players. Pianist’s or violinist’s cramp affects control of finger, hand, or arm movements. It is estimated that approximately 1% of professional musicians are affected by this disorder. A higher risk has been observed in musicians who play instruments requiring extremely fine motor skills.
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References
Altenmuller E, Jabusch H-C. Focal dystonia in musicians: phenomenology, pathophysiology and triggering factors. Eur J Neurol. 2010;17 Suppl 3:31–6.
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Musician’s dystonia guitarist.mp4 (MP4 9,211KB)
Clip 1: the patient exhibits extension dystonia predominantly in his left index finger and less so in the left fourth and fifth fingers. Clip 2: another example of musician’s dystonia in a pianist with flexion dystonia affecting several digits of the right hand.
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Bhidayasiri, R., Tarsy, D. (2012). Musician’s Dystonia in a Guitarist. In: Movement Disorders: A Video Atlas. Current Clinical Neurology. Humana, Totowa, NJ. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-60327-426-5_54
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-60327-426-5_54
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Publisher Name: Humana, Totowa, NJ
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