Dystonia - what is this disease?

Recently, many, and quite often very young people, are diagnosed with "dystonia." What it is? This is a violation of the well-coordinated work of the nervous system, in particular, the department responsible for autonomous processes in the human body.

Types of dystonia

Symptoms of dystonia vary depending on the type of disease. There are muscular, vascular, neurocirculatory and torsional types.

Muscular dystonia - what is it? In this condition, there is a characteristic contraction of muscles, which has a permanent or spasmodic nature. The regularity of such spasms can not be predicted, they can cause a significant inconvenience to the patient, which leads to the loss of normal working capacity. The main symptom of muscular dystonia is the involuntary nature of the slow movements of the muscles of the extremities. At the same time there are changes in the muscle tone and unnatural posture of the trunk. The main cause of this condition in children is damage to the brain of the child during pregnancy or directly in the process of childbirth, this is the phenomenon of hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy.

What is vascular dystonia? Another name for this disease is vegetative or vegetative-vascular dystonia. This disease develops due to the appearance of a complex of symptoms of various clinical manifestations affecting a number of organs and systems. Vegeto-vascular dystonia causes various disorders of the well-coordinated work of the autonomic nervous system. The signs of vascular dystonia begin to manifest themselves due to a strong nervous strain. They can be observed constantly or periodically. The manifestation of this kind of dystonia begins with a headache, gradually it is joined by painful sensations in the region of the heart, there is an increase in the pulse, the facial skin turns white or reddens. There may also be general weakness, nausea, sweating, attacks of unreasonable fear, fever, darkening of the eyes, lowering of blood pressure.

The reason for this condition is most often emotional and physical overstrain.

Neurocirculatory dystonia - what is it? This type of disease is very similar in its features to vegetative-vascular dystonia. With this condition, the tone of the vessels is observed due to malfunctions in the nervous system. As a rule, neurocircular dystonia is characterized by the distribution of disorders throughout the body. Failure to work in any system to some extent violates the processes of the whole organism as a whole. The manifestation of symptoms in this disease is similar to the symptoms of vascular dystonia.

What is torsion dystonia? This species can be both an independent disease and a manifestation of a number of other ailments: epidemic encephalitis, hepatocerebral dystrophy, the effect of birth trauma, etc. The appearance of the first symptoms is observed at the age of 5-20 years. Basically, they are manifested involuntary movement of one limb, usually the bottom. With nervous tension or an attempt to change the position of the body, the symptoms become more pronounced. Torsion dystonia is hereditary, so the diagnosis of the disease is simplified if the relatives of the patient observed similar cases.

Diagnosis of dystonia

The main method for establishing the diagnosis is the clinical picture of the symptoms of the disease. However, to clarify the doctor appoints additional tests. Also during the conversation, the doctor will find out the questions of heredity and possible craniocerebral injuries. If more detailed data are required, genetic analysis can be assigned . This is necessary to exclude suspicion of diseases with similar signs.

Prevention

To prevent illness it is necessary to lead an active lifestyle. Moderate exercise helps to eliminate emotional stress and activate the entire body. You should also adhere to the principles of healthy eating and completely abandon bad habits. This will help reduce the risk of developing a disease such as dystonia. That this is a very serious ailment that requires special attention, you now know.