It has been found that the prevalence of dystonia is high in individuals with Huntington's disease, where the most common clinical presentations are internal shoulder rotation, sustained fist clenching, knee flexion, and foot inversion.

Researchers suspect it is caused by a pathology of the central nervous system, likely originating in those parts of the brain concerned with motor function—such as the basal ganglia and the GABA (gamma-aminobutyric acid) producing Purkinje neurons.

[20] This suggests that the pump might not simply be a homeostatic, "housekeeping" molecule for ionic gradients; but could be a computational element in the cerebellum and the brain.

"[24] Various treatments focus on sedating brain functions or blocking nerve communications with the muscles via drugs, neuro-suppression, or selective denervation surgery.

A geste antagoniste is a physical gesture or position (such as touching one's chin) that temporarily interrupts dystonia, it is also known as a sensory trick.

Potential treatment interventions include splinting,[32] therapeutic exercise, manual stretching, soft tissue and joint mobilization, postural training and bracing,[30] neuromuscular electrical stimulation, constraint-induced movement therapy, activity and environmental modification, and gait training.

[33] Another study emphasized progressive relaxation, isometric muscle endurance, dynamic strength, coordination, balance, and body perception, seeing significant improvements to patients' quality of life after 4 weeks.

[34] Since the root of the problem is neurological, doctors have explored sensorimotor retraining activities to enable the brain to "rewire" itself and eliminate dystonic movements.

[33] To date, focal cervical dystonia has received the most research attention;[31] however, study designs are poorly controlled and limited to small sample sizes.

Baclofen can also be taken in tablet form[40] Botulinum toxin injections into affected muscles have proved quite successful in providing some relief for around 3–6 months, depending on the kind of dystonia.

Botox or Dysport injections have the advantage of ready availability (the same form is used for cosmetic surgery) and the effects are not permanent.

However, for most, their effects are limited and side-effects like mental confusion, sedation, mood swings, and short-term memory loss occur.

One complex case study found that a ketogenic type diet may have been helpful in reducing symptoms associated with alternating hemiplegia of childhood (AHC) of a young child.

[42] Surgery, such as the denervation of selected muscles, may also provide some relief; however, the destruction of nerves in the limbs or brain is not reversible and should be considered only in the most extreme cases.

Recently, the procedure of deep brain stimulation (DBS) has proven successful in a number of cases of severe generalised dystonia.

[44] The Italian Bernardino Ramazzini provided one of the first descriptions of task-specific dystonia in 1713 in a book of occupational diseases, The Morbis Artificum.

It was then recognized that, in addition to severe generalized forms, the dystonia phenotype also encompasses poorly-progressive focal and segmental cases with onset in adulthood, such as blepharospasm, torticollis and writer's cramp.