01/17/2026
Interesting!
“My doctor checked my muscles. He said they’re strong.
So why won’t they stop twisting?” 🧠
That question stays with you, because once your strength is “normal” and your scans look fine, the only thing left for people to blame is you — your stress, your anxiety, your inability to relax.
But dystonia is not a muscle problem.
It’s a control problem.
Every voluntary movement relies on balance. When the brain tells one muscle to contract, it also sends a signal to the opposing muscle telling it to switch off. That quiet inhibition is what allows movement to look smooth instead of forced.
In dystonia, that inhibitory signal doesn’t arrive properly.
The brain sends the “go” command, but the “stop” command gets lost. Muscles stay active longer than they should, neighbouring muscles join in, and movements begin to twist, pull, or lock without permission. What looks deliberate from the outside feels hijacked from the inside.
This is why being told to “relax” doesn’t help, and why symptoms often worsen under stress. A nervous system that already struggles to filter motor signals becomes even less precise when it’s under threat.
It also explains something many people with dystonia notice but are rarely believed about: sometimes, lightly touching the face, neck, or a specific spot on the body can briefly reduce the pulling. This isn’t psychological. It’s a recognised phenomenon called a geste antagoniste. Extra sensory input gives the brain clearer information about where the body is in space, which can momentarily stabilise the faulty motor signal.
Nothing about that is voluntary.
Modern research now recognises dystonia as a disorder of brain networks involved in movement control, not a problem of weak muscles or poor effort. The hardware is intact. The software is misfiring.
And you cannot fix a control system failure by telling the system to try harder.
👇 Does touch ever temporarily reduce your symptoms, even for a few seconds?
References
• Termsarasab, P., Thenganatt, M. A., & Jankovic, J. (2025). Dystonia: Insights into mechanisms, diagnosis, and treatment. The Lancet Neurology
• Quartarone, A., & Hallett, M. (2013). Emerging concepts in the physiological basis of dystonia. Nature Reviews Neurology
• Neychev, V. K., et al. (2011). The functional neuroanatomy of dystonia. Neurobiology of Disease
• Dystonia Coalition (NIH-funded). Dystonia as a network disorder
Disclaimer: I am not a medical professional. I share educational information and lived experience. Always consult a qualified healthcare provider for diagnosis and treatment.
