Writer’s cramp is a focal dystonia of the fingers, hand, and/or forearm. Focal dystonia is a neurological condition that affects a muscle or group of muscles in a specific part of the body, causing involuntary muscular contractions and abnormal postures.
In writer’s cramp, involuntary contraction of intrinsic hand and forearm musculature impairs fine motor control of the hand when writing. The sustained flexion of the fingers results in impaired fine motor control and illegible handwriting. Typically, the act of writing provokes involuntary extension of the thumb and hyperextension of the index finger. The actual etiology of writer’s cramp is unknown. However, it has been clearly established that the cramping of the muscles involved is secondary to a central nervous system disorder (such as a derangement in sensory feedback to motor areas in the brain) involving the basal ganglia structures, and is not a primary muscle disorder.
Symptoms of writer’s cramp include:
- Gripping the writing instrument too had
- Extension of the finger during writing making the writing instrument difficult to hold
- Unusual postures of the wrist or elbow
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