Cervical dystonia is diagnosed clinically, by observing the characteristic involuntary neck posturing and movement and excluding other causes. There is no blood test or scan that confirms it; the diagnosis rests on examination by a clinician familiar with movement disorders.
Cervical dystonia is diagnosed clinically, by observing the characteristic involuntary neck posturing and movement and excluding other causes. There is no blood test or scan that confirms it; the diagnosis rests on examination by a clinician familiar with movement disorders.
The neck turns, tilts, pulls forward or backward involuntarily, often with a tremulous quality. It is usually worse with activity and stress and better with rest. A distinctive feature is the sensory trick: many people find that lightly touching the face, chin or back of the head reduces the pulling considerably, which is characteristic of dystonia and rarely seen in other causes of abnormal neck posture. Neck pain accompanies it in a large proportion of cases.
Other explanations for abnormal neck posture need ruling out, including structural problems in the cervical spine, medication-induced movement disorders, and other neurological conditions. A careful medication history matters, since certain drugs including some antipsychotics and anti-nausea medications can produce dystonic reactions. Imaging is arranged where a structural cause is suspected, at an imaging centre rather than here, since these offices have no imaging suite.
There is no confirmatory laboratory test. That places the weight on a clinician who has seen the condition often enough to recognise the pattern and to distinguish it from tremor, spasticity or a musculoskeletal problem. Delay is common precisely because it gets attributed to a stiff neck or a muscular strain for a long time before anyone considers a movement disorder. Cervical dystonia is managed within the practice's movement disorders area.
Clinical Neurology Specialists has been physician-owned since 1998, when Leo Germin, M.D., FAANEM founded it. Five board-certified neurologists and four advanced practice providers see patients at the Las Vegas and Henderson offices, each with its own AANEM-accredited electrodiagnostic laboratory.
Clinical Neurology Specialists is an adult outpatient neurology practice for patients 18 and older. The practice performs no surgery and operates no imaging suite, infusion suite or interventional pain programme, and provides no emergency or inpatient care.
Physician-reviewed. Reviewed by the physicians of Clinical Neurology Specialists — board-certified neurologists, AANEM-accredited electrodiagnostic laboratories, physician-owned since 1998. Reviewed 1 August 2026. This article is general education for adults 18 and older and is not a substitute for a consultation.
Sources and further reading: National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke; MedlinePlus, National Library of Medicine; American Academy of Neurology.
Adults 18 and older, at the Las Vegas and Henderson offices. Call 702-804-1212 or request an appointment online.