Cervical Dystonia: a pain in the neck!

For your convenience and access to information and resources, each highlighted link in this article leads to a different site. You will be able to find other resources in your country.

Although I have mentioned the use of Botox for treatment of Cervical Dystonia (CD) in previous blogs, there are other articles associated with pain I would like to recommend. Pain can be a difficult experience to describe. Different parts of the body reflect different degrees of discomfort or pain. Bone pain is very different to muscle spasm. Pain associated with circulatory problems is different to headache pain. There are different drugs used to treat pain. Acute pain requires a different approach to chronic pain. Diet is central to all areas of health. Lifestyle can be both seriously affected by pain and is also essential in managing chronic pain.

All the above mentioned variables contribute to how we manage our every day life. The pain associated with CD can be more intense than the tight feeling of spasming vocal cords resulting from spasmodic dysphonia (SD). Arthritis contributes to the pain of CD. So it goes on.

Living with discomfort and or chronic pain need not be a crippling experience. We are not expected to be martyrs, constantly suffering from the ageing experience. Life is a gift to be enjoyed. It is too short to be obsessive about a physical disability. Together, let us move on knowing others share our experiences. We can also share our joy, our friendship, our knowing that future time will provide treatments to cure dystonia in all its forms. The hope of cure in time to come is worth the treatments we now receive to relieve the complex symptoms of cervical dystonia and also the other dystonias.

I hope you have found something here enabling you to feel more confident in making informed decisions about your treatments. Whatever you are thinking, always discuss it with your medical team. They are here to assist us and in many ways, our relationship with treating specialists, family doctors and other health professionals, is reciprocal.

You are welcome to leave your comment or email me at s.j.bayliss@bigpond.com.au and remember we are only a touch type away from each other. Have a great day.

Sue Bayliss. Cairns, Australia.