2018 Articles

Globus Pallidum DBS for Task-Specific Dystonia Symptoms in a Professional Golfer

Shukla, Aparna Wagle; Hu, Wei; Jabarkheel, Zakia; Shah, Syed; Legacy, Joseph; Firth, Kamilia Nozile; Zeilman, Pam R.; Foote, Kelly D.; Okun, Michael S.

Task-specific dystonias are focal dystonias presenting in body parts engaged in highly skilled or overlearned tasks involving repetitive actions and overuse of muscles. These tasks commonly include playing musical instruments, writing, typing, and sports. Although the neck is the most frequent body region involved in focal dystonia, task-specific cervical dystonia has only been rarely reported in literature. These case reports were observed to be in relation to frequent cradling of a phone to the right ear (muscles engaged in tilting of neck involved), chronic sledgehammer use (shoulder muscles), chronic heavy lifting (shoulder muscles), and in one report the patient had bilateral arm amputation and used the mouth for holding and the neck for stabilizing during many motor activities. These patients were treated with botulinum toxin injections, with only two of them reporting mild to moderate improvement. We describe task-specific dystonia symptoms (predominantly cervical) in a professional golfer who quit his career due to disabling symptoms but improved remarkably with deep brain stimulation (DBS) therapy.