A combination of constraint-induced therapy and motor control retraining in the treatment of focal hand dystonia in musicians

Patrice Berque, Heather Gray, Cassandra Harkness, Angus McFadyen

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

    30 Citations (Scopus)

    Abstract

    Focal hand dystonia (FHD) in musicians is a painless task-specific motor disorder characterized by an involuntary loss of control of individual finger movements. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of an innovative behavioural therapy intervention, aimed at normalising movement patterns, in musicians affected by FHD. Eight musicians volunteered to take part in this retraining protocol. Intensive constraint-induced therapy and motor control retraining at slow speed were the interventions. Video recordings of the subjects playing two pieces were used for data analysis. The Frequency of Abnormal Movements scale (FAM), the change in metronome speed achieved during motor control retraining, and two ordinal dystonia evaluation scales were chosen as outcome measures. It was hypothesised that there would be significant differences in the FAM scores and metronome speeds over a 12-month period.

    Original languageEnglish
    Pages (from-to)149-161
    Number of pages13
    JournalMedical Problems of Performing Artists
    Volume25
    Issue number4
    Publication statusPublished - 1 Dec 2010

    Keywords

    • focal hand dystonia
    • movement
    • physiotherapy

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