Acupuncture for psychogenic movement disorders: treatment or diagnostic tool?

Psychogenic movement disorders are common in everyday neurological practice, comprising up to 25% of the patient population in movement disorders clinics. The diagnosis is often difficult, as is illustrated by the high proportion of patients with an organic neurological disease whose movement disorder is misdiagnosed as psychogenic. Here, we describe a woman with a longstanding and treatment-resistant psychogenic movement disorder that responded dramatically to acupuncture. The diagnostic and therapeutic merits of acupuncture are discussed.