Muscles that stay contracted
A muscle keeps contracting and will not release, so a foot stiffens, toes curl inwards, or a posture twists to one side.
In the graph
- Response through the day
- Time a dose was taken
Dystonia is often confused with dyskinesia, though it is closer to its opposite. Where dyskinesia is the body swaying without your intending it, dystonia is a muscle locking in one direction and not letting go. It is the difference between too much movement and being held rigid.
The other difference is that it hurts. Dyskinesia sometimes passes unnoticed; dystonia can wake people from sleep with pain. Noting whether pain was present keeps the two from blurring together in the record.
The curve does not tell you about dystonia. No part of the graph above means dystonia. What helps is marking the times it appeared as events, so you can see where those marks land on the curve — in a low trough or on a high peak. Once several days accumulate, whether that position is consistent begins to show.
People often put it like this
- My toes curl under in the morning
- My foot turns inwards and I cannot put weight on it
- My calf goes hard, like a knot
- It hurts as well, so it is harder on me than dyskinesia
Things often discussed alongside it
These are factors that come up in conversation about this pattern. This is not a list of confirmed causes, and more than one of them is often in play at once.
- It is often described as appearing at lower stretches such as the morning.
- It is also described, conversely, as appearing in the higher stretches.
- When it appears and where differ from person to person.
- Fatigue, cold or long walking may be at work alongside it.
Worth writing down alongside this pattern
- When it started and when it released Which stretch of the day it falls in is the most useful piece of information.
- How well you were moving at the time This separates whether it comes in a low stretch or a high one.
- What time the dose before it was This lets you see its timing in relation to the dose.
- Which part of the body it was Be specific — foot, toes, calf, hand, neck.
- Whether there was pain Whether it hurts is one of the features that separates it from dyskinesia.
- How it released On its own, while walking, or after the next dose.
What you could show your care team
A record is material for describing your situation. Decisions about which medication you take, at what dose, and at what time belong with the clinicians who look after you.