Hypnosis and spasmodic torticollis--report of four cases: a brief communication

Dystonia and particularly spasmodic torticollis are neuromuscular disorders that are extremely resistant to most therapies (physical, medical, or surgical). Torticollis is a unilateral spasm of the neck muscles, particularly of the sternocleidomastoid, that produces violent, tonic turning of the head to one side. The etiology remains uncertain, although the role of psychogenic factors has been emphasized. This article reviews the literature and reports four cases of spasmodic torticollis treated successfully with hypnosis. In all four cases, psychogenic causes were involved. Postural hypnosis (i.e., hypnosis in the standing position) was employed to counteract and minimize muscle spasms due to postural reflexes. A hypnobehavioral approach was adopted along with hypnotic strategies that included hierarchical desensitization, sensory-imaging conditioning, ego-boosting suggestions, and hypnosis-facilitated differential muscle retraining. In two cases, a combined hypnosis and electromyographic-biofeedback approach was used to equilibrate and retrain affected neck muscles. Although the hypnotherapeutic process took several months to induce and stabilize significant changes, outcome results were good to excellent in all cases, with marked reduction of the torticollis and the hypertrophy of the neck muscles as well as a reduced interference of symptoms in daily living.