An overview of rehabilitation approaches for focal hand dystonia in musicians: A scoping review

Clin Rehabil. 2024 May;38(5):589-599. doi: 10.1177/02692155231225705. Epub 2024 Jan 18.

Abstract

Objective: To provide a comprehensive overview of rehabilitation treatment strategies for focal hand dystonia (FHD) in musicians, examining their evolution and effectiveness.

Data sources: A systematic search of five databases, PubMed, PEDro, Cochrane Library, Trip, and Google Scholar, to identify relevant articles on FHD rehabilitation. The last search was performed on 20 December 2023.

Methods: Inclusion criteria were applied to 190 initially identified articles, resulting in 17 articles for review. Exclusions were made for duplicates, irrelevant titles, abstracts, and non-rehabilitation interventions.

Results: Ten different rehabilitation approaches were identified over 20 years. While no definitive intervention protocol exists, a multimodal approach is commonly recommended.

Conclusions: This scoping review underscores the diversity of rehabilitation strategies for FHD. It suggests the potential of multimodal approaches, emphasizing the need for further large-scale clinical efficacy studies.

Keywords: Musician's dystonia; motor retraining; rehabilitation; task-specific training.

Publication types

  • Review

MeSH terms

  • Dystonic Disorders* / etiology
  • Dystonic Disorders* / rehabilitation
  • Hand
  • Humans
  • Medicine*
  • Music*
  • Treatment Outcome

Supplementary concepts

  • Dystonia, Focal, Task-Specific