A new therapeutic proposal for writer's cramp: a case report.

CONTEXT Writer's cramp is a kind of focal hand dystonia that appears when individuals are writing. Since pharmacological treatment has not shown the desired therapeutic response, a study on immobilization of the damaged musculature was performed on two individuals with writer's cramp, using splints with the objective of reducing the handwriting abnormalities. CASE REPORT Two patients presenting writer's cramp who had previously undergone different therapies, including botulinum toxin, without an adequate response, participated in a body awareness program, followed by immobilization of the hand musculature damaged by dystonia, by means of splints, with handwriting training. At the end of the procedure, objective and subjective improvements in the motor pattern of writing could be observed. The immobilization of the dystonic musculature of the hand by means of splints and the motor training of handwriting helped to improve and consequently to reduce the dystonic component observed in the writer's cramp.