Painless Muscle Cramps

  Since high school, my 23 year old brother has had painless muscle cramping that effects only the left side of his body all at the same time.
  He saw a doctor in high school who didn't seem too concerned because it didn't happen very often, but now my brother is concerned because it happens
  more frequently (sometimes up to three times a day).  The cramps cause his hand to curl up in a strange looking fist--he can manually straighten this out with
  his other hand, but it will curl back up when he lets go.  It has gotten to the point now that it interferes with what he is doing.
  What would cause such a thing?  He did have a head injury in high school that make him lose his sense of taste and smell.  Are the two things connected?
Dear Erin,
As you mentioned, typical muscle cramps are usually explosive at onset  and variable in the rate of resolution.  They are usually associated with painful and palpable contraction.  Cramps can be stimulated by a trivial movement or a forced contraction.  One alternative is a "dystonia",  this is a disorder dominated by sustained contractions that  frequently cause twisting and repetitive movements or abnormal postures.  Dystonias can occur focally or they may be more generalized.  There are several diseases that are responsible  for dystonia; they include processes that are either genetic or are of known and unknown etiolgy. I recommend an evaluation by a neurologist to explore this further.  Depending on the location and severity, several dystonia can be treated medically for with botox injections.  If ever you are interested in getting an evaluation at CCF call 1-800-CCF-CARE.  Good Luck.