Hand cramps
- 1 July 1988
- journal article
- research article
- Published by Wolters Kluwer Health in Neurology
- Vol. 38 (7) , 1005
- https://doi.org/10.1212/wnl.38.7.1005
Abstract
We studied 19 patients with hand cramps, including writer9s cramp, typist9s cramp, piano, and guitar player9s cramp. EMGs were recorded while patients performed the task triggering the cramps. Ten patients with dystonic cramps had EMGs with generalized muscle spasms with co-contraction of agonist and antagonist muscles. In three patients with simple cramps that involved one to three fingers, specific muscle groups showed co-contracting bursts that lasted longer than normal. The physiological abnormalities support the interpretation that hand cramp is a focal dystonia, characterized by both excessive muscle activity and defective fine motor control.This publication has 2 references indexed in Scilit:
- Increased co-activation of the upper limb muscles in writer's cramp.Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery & Psychiatry, 1985
- Attempted rapid elbow flexion movements in patients with athetosis.Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery & Psychiatry, 1983