Botox for Cervical Dystonia

What is cervical dystonia?

Cervical dystonia, also known as spasmodic torticollis, is a neurological disorder characterized by involuntary muscle contractions in the neck that cause abnormal head and neck movements. Sometimes the movements are sustained and fixed in a position and sometimes the movements are brief and repetitive. Cervical dystonia can occur secondary to a neurological condition and it can also occur in otherwise healthy individuals without a definitive explanation. To qualify for botulinum toxin, typically your dystonia is severe enough to cause difficulty with head positioning and movement. 

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What is muscle tone? 
Muscle tone is the continuous and passive partial contraction of the muscles, or the muscle's resistance to passive stretch during resting state. ​In simpler terms, your muscles have elasticity like a rubber band.
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Think of too little muscle tone as an old, large, thin, stretched-out rubber band 

An example of too little muscle tone is a child with a neurologic condition who is unable to sit upright without support. The child would need an elevated backrest to hold the body upright. 

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Think of too much muscle tone as a brand new, small, thick rubber band

An example of too much muscle tone is a patient who had a stroke with residual arm weakness and subsequently a stiff contracted arm occurs. 

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