What could be the cause of cervical dystonia at 49 years?

Question

Hello doctor,

I am 49 years old and was recently told that I have cervical dystonia, and I am shocked by the diagnosis. I have never had any neurological issues before. My neck pulls painfully, and people often think that I am anxious or tense.

Stress seems to make it worse, but it did not cause the condition, correct? Botox injections have been suggested as a treatment, and that concerns me.

What really causes cervical dystonia at the age of 49?
What is the reason for the sudden onset of this condition in midlife?
Is it hereditary, or can it be because of some mistake I made?

I feel that this is really impacting my confidence and even the way I work. I fear that this condition may continue to worsen in the future.

Kindly advise.

Answer 1

Hello,

Welcome to icliniq.com.

I understand your concern.

It is unfortunate that you have had to go through this; the diagnosis of cervical dystonia at 49 years is unexpected, especially since there was no previous neurological problem in your life. Cervical dystonia is not something that happens because of what people do wrongly and, more importantly, it is not associated with stress. Nevertheless, stress will definitely make your neck muscle contractions, abnormal neck posture, and pain worse.

What causes this is an impairment of the brain circuits that regulate movement; the basal ganglia are one example of such brain circuits where problems may arise. This is something that may take place slowly and become apparent only in mid-life. For some people, cervical dystonia is idiopathic in nature, which means that no particular cause could be pinpointed to the disorder.

However, in some patients, a mix of genetic predisposition and environment might play a role. Another important point to remember is the fact that while the problem may seem to come up suddenly, it has most likely developed gradually and has only become noticeable once the diagnosis has been made. The treatment by means of botulinum toxin injection is common in cases of cervical dystonia, as it helps to relieve the muscle from spasms.

Though it might sound frightening, botulinum toxin therapy is the most effective way to treat cervical dystonia and is frequently used for its prolonged treatment. This condition is usually chronic and does not develop quickly, but many people do experience considerable improvements in terms of pain relief, posture correction, and movement of the head and neck with proper treatment and adjustments to the treatment regimen.

I hope this information is clear, and feel free to ask your questions whenever needed.

Thank you.