It is estimated that 42 million people have some form of movement disorder in the United States.
Symptoms of a movement disorder can be subtle –you might notice you are moving a little slower than you used to or your hands seem to shake during ordinary activities. Each person’s symptoms and treatment are different. A proper diagnosis and early detection at the Chase Family Movement Disorders Center will help ensure the best treatment.
Depending on your diagnosis, we have a team of specialists that are ready to guide you through your treatment options. The Movement Disorders Center brings together experts from numerous fields to create a multi-disciplinary approach to treatment.
Conditions we treat at the Chase Family Movement Disorders Center:
- Parkinson's disease is a movement disorder in which a person has slowness of movement along with tremor, stiffness (rigidity) or balance problems. This is caused by low levels of dopamine, a brain chemical that helps control movement.
- Parkinsonism is a term for brain disorders that cause symptoms similar to those found in Parkinson’s disease. Examples include
multiple system atrophy (MSA), progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP), Lewy body dementia (LBD), and corticobasal
degeneration (CBD).
- Essential Tremor is a movement disorder that is characterized by involuntary shaking of the hands, head, voice, legs or trunk.
- Dystonia is a nervous system disorder with excessive, involuntary muscle contractions that result in abnormal muscle movements and body postures. Hemifacial spasms, where the muscles on one side of your face twitch involuntarily, or blepharospasms, where the eyes blink or close involuntarily, may also occur.
- Gait disorders are problems with walking. There are several types of gait disorders including propulsive gait, scissorings gait, magnetic gait, spastic gait, steppage gait and waddling gait.
- Ataxia is poor muscle control that causes clumsy voluntary movements. It is usually caused by damage to the cerebellum, or the part of the brain that is responsible for muscle coordination.
- Myoclonus refers to a quick, involuntary muscle jerk. An example of this is hemifacial spasm where the muscles on one side of your face twitch involuntarily.
- Tourette syndrome is a brain condition that starts in childhood characterized by sounds and movements called tics that a person can’t easily control.
- Huntington’s disease is an inherited and progressive neurological disorder caused by the degeneration of nerve cells in specific areas of the brain. Symptoms include rapid, jerky movements called chorea that are involuntary.
- Tardive dyskinesiais involuntary blinking, tongue movements, and other unintentional movements such as twitching, shaking, or jerking in the hands, feet, face, or torso. This may be caused by medications such as antipsychotics used to treat schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and depression, or by antiemetics used for nausea.
- Psychogenic movement disorders are conditions where in which people develop abnormal movements that are likely caused by psychological stressors or traumatic experiences in the past that have caused subconscious distress.
- Restless Leg Syndrome is a disorder related to sensation and movement characterized by an unpleasant feeling or sensation in a part of the body that creates a strong urge to move it.
- Stiff Person Syndrome is an immune-mediated neurological disorder characterized by stiffness (rigidity) and stimulus triggered painful muscle spasms of trunk and proximal limb muscles.