All You Want To Know About Movement Disorders - Dr. Shivam Mittal

1. Every year we see millions of people encountering some or the other form of movement disorder like dystonia, tremor, Parkinson’s disease, Tourette’s syndrome, and the like. While every kind of movement disorder is seen to be on the rise, the most common one seen is tremor, which affects more than a million people every year. This ailment involves shaking of the hands, legs, or head. This makes the patients helpless such that they are unable to perform even the simplest of activities like holding a glass, tying up their shoelaces, buttoning up their shirt, etc. The second most common movement disorder seen is Parkinson’s disease, which also affects more than a million people. This disorder involves shaking of the body parts just like in tremor, along with muscular rigidity and slow movement. As this disorder progresses, it becomes increasingly disabling, requiring more and more medications to manage the symptoms, increasing the potential for unpredictable and distressing side effects. The third most common movement disorder is dystonia, which is characterized by abnormal muscle tone, resulting in muscular spasm and abnormal posture, generally due to a neurological disease or side effect of drug therapy. The muscle contractions in this case are painful and prolonged, which twist the body into abnormal positions and distorted postures.

2. Apart from being highly distressing and frustrating, these movement disorders also make the patient feel helpless and ashamed when in public because of the inability to perform the simplest of tasks and the constant shaking motion. Because these ailments have no known cause, they don’t have any prevention or permanent cure too. However, they can be treated on a temporary basis through medications, injections, and surgeries. Medications – Antepileptics, beta-blockers, dopamine agonists, tranaquilizers, and antiseizure medications are given to movement disorder patients. While they can help temporary keep movement disorders in control, they also have side-effects like dizziness, drowsiness, nausea, vomiting, lack of coordination, and fatigue. Further complications could include blood clots, slowed heart rate, and depression. Injections – When medications are not the form of treatment for a patient, or when a patient can afford injections, they are injected with botulinum toxin, or Botox in short. The patient is injected with this toxin into the nerves that inhibits the release of neurotransmitters that cause muscle contraction. While very effective, the results stay only up till a few months. This is why patients need to take up these injections from time to time, once in every 3-6 months. Surgery – When nothing else works, or when the movement disorder is at a very serious stage, movement disorders specialist in Bangalore suggest undergoing a surgery. The surgery, known as Deep Brain Stimulation, involves implanting two electrodes into the targeted areas of the brain, and a neurotransmitter device into the chest area. Connected together, signals are sent to the brain to control the movement of the nerves, while blocking the signals that cause disabling motor symptoms. But, just like every other treatment, this surgery also has its own disadvantages. Patients undergoing Deep Brain Stimulation may encounter bleeding, infection, slurred speech, depression, impaired muscle tone, loss of balance, or even slight paralysis. While every kind of treatment has its own pros and cons, you can’t live with movement disorder all your life without being treated. Therefore, it is advisable that you consult a movement disorders specialist in Bangalore like Dr. Shivam Mittal who can diagnose your condition and suggest you the safest treatment for your body.