What's the Difference between Dystonia and Dyskinesia?

Dystonia and dyskinesia are extra movements that can, but don’t always, happen with Parkinson’s. They’re different than the core motor symptoms, which are tremor, slowness and stiffness. But it can be hard to tell dystonia from dyskinesia from tremor from other parts of Parkinson’s.

In this video, Rachel Dolhun, MD, DipABLM, movement disorder specialist, lifestyle medicine physician and principal medical advisor at The Michael J. Fox Foundation (MJFF), goes over what dystonia and dyskinesia look like, when these symptoms typically happen, and how you can treat them.

The "Ask the MD" series is intended as an educational resource for people with Parkinson's and their loved ones. Please consult with your personal healthcare provider to address individual medical questions.

The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research is dedicated to finding a cure for Parkinson's disease through an aggressively funded research agenda and to ensuring the development of improved therapies for those living with Parkinson's today. https://www.michaeljfox.org

We gratefully acknowledge the Steering Committee members of our Patient Disease Education Consortium in conjunction with The Albert B. Glickman Parkinson’s Disease Education Program, whose sponsorship allows us to create and distribute materials, while preserving our track record of efficiency in stewarding donor-raised contributions for maximum impact on Parkinson’s drug development. Sponsorship support does not influence MJFF’s content perspective or panelist selection.

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