title: A cause and cure of some cases of "writer's cramp".
abstract: Writer's cramp is a very disabling condition characterized by difficulty in fine movements of the hand such as writing, shaving, or performing surgery. It is associated with pain in the forearm and upper arm. Women with writer's cramp experience comparable difficulty. An analysis of 100 cases of ruptured C6 disk, proved at operation and taken at random from the files of Semmes-Murphey Clinic, was carried out, and showed that 60 of these had pain in the right arm and 40 had pain in the left arm. Twenty of those with right arm pain had writer's cramp. There was one questionable case of writer's cramp in the left arm. Of the 20 who had writer's cramp, 13 had complete relief of writer's cramp and pain, 1 had no relief (Dr. Butts), and there were 6 lost to follow-up. At least one cause of writer's cramp is suggested, but no claim is made that this is the only cause.
authors.affiliation: Semmes-Murphey Clinic, Memphis, Tennessee 38103.
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Murphey
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D002574:Cervical Vertebrae; D013502:General Surgery; D006236:Handwriting; D006801:Humans; D007405:Intervertebral Disc Displacement / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000601:surgery; D008297:Male; D010146:Pain; D011184:Postoperative Period