AUTHOR=Singam Narayanasarma V., Dwivedi Alok , Espay Alberto J.

TITLE=Writing Orthotic Device for the Management of Writer’s Cramp

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Neurology

VOLUME=Volume 4 - 2013

YEAR=2013

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/neurology/articles/10.3389/fneur.2013.00002

DOI=10.3389/fneur.2013.00002

ISSN=1664-2295

ABSTRACT=Background: Oral therapies and chemodenervation procedures are often unrewarding in the treatment of focal, task-specific hand disorders such as writer's cramp or primary writing tremor. 

Methods: A portable writing orthotic device was evaluated on fifteen consecutively recruited writer's cramp and primary writing tremor subjects. We measured overall impairment at baseline and after two weeks of at-home use with the Writer’s Cramp Rating Scale (range = 0-8, higher is worse) and writing quality and comfort with a visual analog scale (range = 0-10). 

Results: Compared to regular pen, the writing orthotic device improved the Writer's Cramp Rating Scale scores at first-test (p=0.001) and re-test (p=0.005) as well as writing quality and device comfort in writer's cramp subjects. Benefits were sustained at two weeks. Primary writing tremor subjects demonstrated no improvements.

Conclusions: Writing orthotic devices exploiting a muscle-substitution strategy may yield immediate benefits in patients with writer's cramp.