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Writer's cramp--a habit for reversal?
Journal of Behavior Therapy and Experimental Psychiatry
|September 1, 1983
Summary
Nurse-therapists successfully treated writer's cramp using habit reversal, in vivo exposure, and re-education. This brief, simple method led to sustained writing recovery in most patients.
Area of Science:
- Neurology
- Occupational Therapy
Background:
- Writer's cramp is a focal dystonia affecting fine motor skills.
- Traditional treatments have variable success rates.
Observation:
- Four patients with writer's cramp received treatment from nurse-therapists.
- The intervention combined habit reversal, in vivo exposure, and re-education.
Findings:
- All four patients resumed normal writing after an average of four sessions.
- Sustained improvement was observed at 2-6 year follow-up, with only one patient relapsing.
Implications:
- This combined therapeutic approach offers a brief and simple treatment for writer's cramp.
- It demonstrates potential for effective, long-term management of focal dystonia.