Cervical Dystonia symptoms
135,419
Published 2012-03-25
For more information www.MidwestHeadaches.com/
This is the video of Mike's dystonia symptoms when I met him.
The video he posted after 1 week of Advanced Neuromuscular orthotic is here:
www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=368216209868241&set=v…
Cervical dystonia is a painful condition in which the neck muscles contract involuntarily, causing the head to twist or turn to one side. It can also cause the head to uncontrollably tilt forward or backward. It is also known as "spasmodic torticollis".
Medical specialists think that Cervical dystonia is caused by aberrant nerve signals from the brain. So to manage this, Botulinum toxin used for cosmetic wrinkle relaxing is injected into the neck muscles to paralyze them. Since this toxin's effect wears off over time, it is repeated every three or four months. Brain surgery to implant an electrical stimulator is the next option offered since they believe that there is no known cure for Cervical dystonia
I postulate that the spasms and tilting of the head are an attempt by the nervous system to accommodate for a misalignment of the neck and jaws. It is known that jaw alignment DOES affect the head and neck alignment. When the upper cervical vertebrae are misaligned the nervous system tightens the neck muscles as a protective reflect.
Mike has been suffering from Cervical Dystonia for 14 years. He was diagnosed by specialist physicians at UC San Francisco. He was given several Botulinum toxin injections in his neck muscles. He had limited relief from it. He was also given powerful medications with hallucinogenic side effects. Mike said no more of those medications or Botox injections. Mike could not control the tilting of his head or head movement even for a short time. It worsened when he laid down. So a good night's sleep was impossible. Mike had a great attitude. His life was great. It would be better if he could just have 5 minutes of relief and sit down on the couch without the head movement. He also felt a constant sharp pain in his shoulder that felt like an ice pick was stuck in there permanently. He did get some temporary relief for an hour or so, through acupuncture by his chiropractor. His wife Sara was determined to find a solution. She was not going to give up looking for a solution. So she found us on the internet and called and spoke about another Cervical Dystonia case that I treated.
This video shows Mike describing his symptoms and desired outcomes. Immediately after this, Advanced Neuromuscular protocols were used to diagnose the optimal neuromuscular jaw position that also optimizes neck and head posture. A bite record of this position is called a 'myobite'. A removable orthotic to go over his lower teeth was made by Williams lab. Mike has worn this for about a week. After 14 years of dealing with the uncontrollable head movement of Cervical Dystonia, he is seeing relief that is beyond his wildest hopes. He is able to lie down and get a good night's sleep. He can actually sit on the couch for over 90 minutes to watch TV with Sara. Simple pleasures that the rest of us would take for granted. Yet these were unattainable for someone that suffers with Cervical dystonia.
We have much more work to do for short term and long term. However, the results so far can only be called -- in Mike's own words - "amazing".
The power of Advanced LVI Neuromuscular dentistry protocols continues to amaze us as well.
All Comments (21)
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I have cervical dystonia i feel so self conscious all the time ..This man is so brave
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I have essential tremor and it is progressively getting worse. I am sympathetic toward this guy whose tremor is worse than my own. He seems like a great guy. It is difficult to live with tremor because people judge you or they avoid getting close to you. As difficult as the simplest task has become, like putting on pierced earrings, what bothers me most is I feel insecure around people. I try now to avoid social events. I wonder if they think I am an alcoholic with the DTS or because I delight in gardening, I wonder if neighbors think I expose myself to toxic substances ,insecticides, herbicides etc. I have become paranoid. I find it humiliating.
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I wish all the good luck in the world to this men.
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I feel for this dude, my cervical dystonic tremors isn’t quite as bad as his, sure feels like it some days
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I once had these symptoms for two days due to a medication I foolishly took called haldol. For me benadryl took the symptoms away but I can tell you as someone without this condition, living with it for a mere two days had my mind thinking about suicide. I can not stress enough how strong you guys are to deal with this day after day
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I was diagnosed with Tardive dyskinesia a couple weeks ago. But my symptoms resemble this man's struggle quite closely. Especially the thing he said about feeling like an ice pick in his neck. It's a miserable way to live, and this poor guys had it for 14 years. I feel for him.
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I have this. At 61 years old, it has gotten worse. This has practically ruined a major part of my life. I see adults and especially children staring.
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This guy is awesome- appreciate your authenticity
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You're a sweet heart. I hope doctors can help you out. God bless you.
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Jordan M: I have no idea what your background or expertise is to suggest this case of Cervical Dystonia is due to anxiety. It is demeaning to the person that is suffering from this condition. CD is real. It is due to uncontrolled firing of the nerves that control the muscles the move the head....which in my experience...is due to an imbalance of the muscles that control the jaw / neck area.
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What a lovely guy, my head does this but not as severe. I'm just starting to go to neurology for answers
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About 8 months ago, my 7 year old son noticed that I was shaking my head. I haven't been to a doctor to see about it yet. :(
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This is honestly scaring me... Im 15 years old and I have cervical dystonia but not as bad as this. The only thing that happens is my neck tenses up and moves to the left. I have had this for about 8 months. And I've had to stop sports such as basketball and volleyball which mean a lot to me and has even cause me to go under depression. I've taken Botox injections once and I'm scheduled for my second set in the next couple of weeks. I just really hope this doesn't last for a long time😔
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My neck does quick turns to the side very randomly and idk why it’s happening
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Dear Dr. Zubiaur: Thank you for asking for permission and finding this video useful. By all means, use this video in your presentation and include my website address since it has lot more information about ENT symptoms and TMD. It is MidwestHeadaches
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Dear Dr. Raman: what a a great and instructional video. Here at the Voice Clinic in Mexico City we are trying to promote and spread awareness of Spasmodic Dysphonia (SD), a form of focal dystonia. May I use your part of this video to show other forms of dystonias in a National Otolaryngology meeting here in Mexico? This would be shown to ENT specialists during a conference where I will be speaking about SD and your name would be on the slide. Thanks for your time! Fermin Zubiaur, laryngologist.
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You will get well soon.. Jesus will bless you with a beautiful life ahead..
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It’s an neck injury abs you must address the issue and fix you posture and any compressed nerves or disk problems
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So sorry. My patient had a migraine and the next day she had cervical dystonia with head tremor. She saw a neurologist in Oklahoma City and was diagnosed with psychogenic head tremor which resulted in muscle spasms in her neck. One year later she gets to see a movement disorder neurologist at a residency clinic in Oklahoma City and they tell her she's having withdrawals when she's having her neck spasms. See diagnose Dana
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i think if we have misaligned jaw and have a habit of clenching the teeth often when stressed or other times, the shoulder muscle gets contracted and the head moves involuntary
