The Acupuncture Treatment of Severe Axial Dystonia

This article reports on the use of acupuncture in the treatment of severe axial dystonia, and is illustrated by the case of a young old woman who developed the condition during psychiatric treatment for schizophrenia. The symptoms of axial dystonia are involuntary spasmodic movements and an abnormal posture of the neck and upper body. In this case the acupuncture treatment, applied using traditional Oriental medical principles, gradually eased the involuntary movements and brought about normalisation of the patient’s posture. In addition to improvements in the dystonia, the patient also experienced an amelioration of her psychotic symptoms.