Movement - uncontrolled or slow

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Muscular atrophy

Uncontrolled or slow movement is defined as a problem with muscle tone, usually in large muscle groups, that leads to slow involuntary contractions of the head, limbs, trunk, or neck.

See also:

• Movement - unpredictable or jerky
• Stereotypic movement disorder
• Tremor
• Uncoordinated movement
• Uncontrollable movements

Dystonia; Involuntary slow and twisting movements; Choreoathetosis; Leg and arm movements - uncontrollable; Arm and leg movements - uncontrollable; Slow involuntary movements of large muscle groups; Athetoid movements

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The slow sinuous twisting movements of muscles (athetosis) or sustained muscle contraction (dystonia) may be caused by a number of conditions, including cerebral palsy, encephalitis, drug side effects, a liver disease called hepatic encephalopathy, and Huntington's chorea.

Additionally, there are situations where two conditions, for example both a brain injury and a medication, interact to cause the abnormal movement when neither alone would cause a problem.

The abnormal movement may be reduced or disappear during sleep, but emotional stress makes it worse. Abnormal and sometimes grotesque postures may occur because of these movements.

• Encephalitis
• Hepatic encephalopathy
• Medication side effects
• Cerebral palsy
• Genetic diseases
• Stroke

Review Date: 03/26/2009
Reviewed By: David C. Dugdale, III, MD, Professor of Medicine, Division of General Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of Washington School of Medicine; and Daniel B. Hoch, PhD, MD, Assistant Professor of Neurology, Harvard Medical School, Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital. Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, Medical Director, A.D.A.M., Inc.

A.D.A.M., Inc. is accredited by URAC, also known as the American Accreditation HealthCare Commission (www.urac.org).