Penn Medicine’s Movement Disorders Center is among the largest, most comprehensive movement disorder clinics in the nation. Since 1982, our team has provided unparalleled patient-centered care grounded in the latest research. Much of that innovative research originates right here at Penn. Our multidisciplinary team is dedicated to improving mobility and enhancing quality of life for people with movement disorders.
What Are Movement Disorders?
Movement disorders are a group of conditions that affect the nervous system and cause problems with movement control. The nervous system sends messages to the muscles to contract (shorten) or relax to create smooth, coordinated movement. In people with movement disorders, the nervous system cannot properly send these messages to the muscles.
Some movement disorders increase movements, creating tremors or spasms. Other movement disorders slow down movement, causing stiff or rigid muscles.
Types of Movement Disorders
There are many types of movement disorders, ranging from common to rare. Common movement disorders include:
- Ataxia is a loss of muscle control, typically in the arms and legs.
- Dystonia is a type of movement disorder causing involuntary, sometimes painful, muscle contractions that lead to abnormal postures or repeated movements.
- Essential tremor is a neurological condition causing involuntary and rhythmic shaking, most often in the hands.
- Dementia with Lewy Bodies is a condition in which proteins accumulate in certain areas of the brain, affecting movement control and memory.
- Parkinson’s disease is a condition in which parts of the brain deteriorate, causing tremors, imbalance, and slowed movements.
- Tardive dyskinesia is a side effect of certain medications that causes repetitive, involuntary movements.
- Tourette’s syndrome is a neurological condition causing sudden tics, which can be uncontrollable, repetitive, or jerking movements or sounds.
Movement disorders that occur less frequently, include:
- Corticobasal degeneration is a condition in which nerve cells in certain areas of the brain shrink and die off, causing decreased movement control.
- Huntington’s disease is an inherited condition causing areas of the brain that control voluntary movement to break down.
- Multiple system atrophy is a neurological condition in which damage to brain cells affects many body systems, some of which impact movement and balance.
- Progressive supranuclear palsy is a disorder of the brain causing problems with coordination, balance, and movement, including eye movement.
A Collaborative Care Team of Movement Disorders Specialists
At Penn Medicine, we know that the highest quality treatment for people with movement disorders comes from a team of experts working together on all aspects of care. Our exceptional teamwork sets Penn Medicine’s Movement Disorders Center apart and allows our clinicians to provide leading-edge care for people with movement disorders.
Our team of neurologists, neuropsychologists, and neurosurgeons work together to address specific movement disorder symptoms with customized treatments backed by research, applying advanced approaches that might not be widely available. They work closely with our specialized nurses, nurse practitioners, and social workers, who support patients and caregivers throughout the treatment process.
At Penn, our neurology team also works closely with physical, occupational, and speech therapists who provide complementary rehabilitative care that helps people with movement disorders live safer, more independent, and active lives.
Meet the Movement Disorders Center team at Penn Medicine
Why Choose Penn Medicine for Movement Disorders Care?
As one of the largest and busiest movement disorders programs in the country, we combine extensive clinical experience and groundbreaking research efforts to bring you the best care possible. People who come to us for care find:
- National recognition: The National Parkinson’s Foundation and the Lewy Body Dementia Association have named our Parkinson’s disease and dementia with Lewy bodies subspecialty clinics as centers of clinical excellence. These recognitions acknowledge our outstanding clinical care and commitment to research that moves the field forward.
- Neurosurgical expertise: Our neurosurgeons regularly perform the latest minimally invasive procedures for movement disorders, some of which are not available elsewhere in the region. Other providers seek us out for referrals for their most complex cases.
- Comprehensive treatment model: Movement disorders care requires a team of different specialists working together to come up with the best solutions. Our team meets weekly to carefully discuss and plan the best path forward for every patient.
- Clinical research focus: Many of our doctors are also researchers who actively search for more effective movement disorder treatments and improved understanding of these conditions. We integrate the most current research into our care plans. Our involvement in clinical trials helps bring our patients leading-edge treatments, often before they are widely available.
- Virtual accessibility: Penn Medicine’s neurology department, including the Movement Disorders Center, was one of the first to use telemedicine during the COVID pandemic to ensure our patients received important care. Today, we are expanding our telemedicine efforts to patients with movement disorders who are homebound or who live in rural or remote locations.
Make an Appointment
Please call 800-789-7366 or make an appointment.