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

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Every year we see millions of people encountering
some or the other form of movement disorder like
dystonia, tremor, Parkinsons disease, Tourettes
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
Parkinsons 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.
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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 dont 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 cant 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.