Program 2023

What is Focal Dystonia?

Dystonia is a neurological condition that causes involuntary or unusual movements in body parts. Focal dystonia affects only one part of the body, usually the fingers or hands. It is estimated that 1 to 2 percent of all professional musicians suffer from focal dystonia. It occurs more often in men. Focal dystonia is also common in tailors, hairdressers, and people who mainly type on computers.

If a musician has focal dystonia, his hands do not react as intended when trying to play an instrument because, for example, fingers curl or clench, hands “freeze” or stop moving completely, or fingers shake. The fourth and fifth finger are usually the most affected.

Focal dystonia is the result of changes in the way nerves in parts of the body communicate with the brain. As a result, the instructions from the brain do not correspond to the desired movements. The Dystonia Medical Research Foundation compares the affected neural transmission to a “computer virus” or “hard drive crash” of a person’s internal programming and movement.

Many causes of focal dystonia are primary, meaning that a doctor cannot identify the underlying medical condition that is causing the focal dystonia. However, some types of focal dystonia are secondary. This means that a person may associate their focal dystonia with a medical condition or cause. Musicians who have focal dystonia may relate the cause to a change in their habits, such as: an increased amount of practice or performance time, change in technique, changes due to nerve injury, playing a new type of instrument etc.