At the UC Davis Movement Disorders Program, our neurologists (nerve disorder specialists) provide the highest level of care.

We perform advanced testing and offer comprehensive treatments for all types of movement disorders, including:  

• Ataxia: Poor muscle control that causes clumsy movements. 
• Dystonia: Involuntary, sometimes painful muscle spasms that affect the body. 
• Essential tremor: Uncontrollable shaking in your hands, arms or other body parts. 
• Huntington’s disease: Inherited disorder that affects your movements, thoughts and behaviors. 
• Parkinson’s disease: Loss of muscle control that leads to slowed movements, balance issues and tremors. 

Symptoms vary depending on the type of movement disorder. These symptoms can be mild or severe.

Common Symptoms 

Signs of a movement disorder include: 

• Balance and coordination problems 
• Changes to how you walk, including difficulty walking 
• Limb or trunk stiffness  
• Problems swallowing or speaking 
• Uncontrolled movements, such as jerks, twitches, tremors or spasms  

Several factors can cause movement disorders. Nerve cell (neuron) damage or death to areas of your brain can affect how your body moves. Some people have gene changes that affect the brain.

Gene changes (mutations) cause some types of movement disorders. You may inherit this gene change from a parent, or the gene may mutate spontaneously.

Several factors may increase your risk of developing a movement disorder: 

Many movement disorders share similar symptoms and mimic other conditions. An accurate diagnosis is key to effective treatment.

Our movement disorder specialists have expertise diagnosing common and rare movement disorders. We start with an in-depth neurological exam to test your muscle strength and reflexes.

Depending on your symptoms, you may get one or more of these tests to aid diagnosis and rule out other conditions: 

• Blood test: This test can diagnose certain movement disorders and rule out others. 
• Electroencephalogram (EEG): An EEG assesses your brain’s electrical activity.  
• Electromyography (EMG): An EMG evaluates how well your muscles and nerves work together.  
• Muscle biopsy: Your provider removes a small sample of muscle tissue to check for signs of disease. 
• Nerve conduction study: A nerve conduction study measures how fast electrical impulses travel through nerves to reach muscles. 
• Neuroimaging: Medical imaging tests, such as MRIs and positron emission tomography (PET) scans, can show changes in your brain. 
• Skin biopsy: Your provider removes a small sample of skin tissue to check for signs of disease. 
• Spinal tap (lumbar puncture): Your provider uses a needle to remove a small amount of spinal cord fluid. A lab expert examines the fluid for signs of disease. 

Your provider will customize a treatment plan based on the disease type and severity of symptoms.