Reflex Mechanisms in CRPS-Related Dystonia

Abstract

This paper focuses on the pathophysiology of fixed dystonia (i.e., sustained muscle contractions resulting in abnormal postures) in Complex Regional Pain Syndrome from an engineering point of view. Although the mechanisms are still elusive, the evidence implicating involvement of aberrant muscle force feedback is compelling. A neuromuscular model with aberrant muscle force feedback successfully mimicked fixed dystonia while results of several experiments point to involvement of muscle force feedback.