Validating a New Writer s Cramp Scale

Study Summary

Background: \- People with writer s cramp develop tightness in arm muscles and abnormal hand posture when writing, which makes writing difficult or impossible. At present, there is no suitable rating scale to measure the symptoms of or disability associated with writer s cramp. Researchers want to videotape people performing simple writing tasks. They will then compare the performance of people with writer s cramp on these tasks to those of people without writer s cramp. This information will help develop a rating scale to evaluate writer s cramp. Objectives: \- To develop a new rating scale for writer s cramp. Eligibility: \- Individuals at least 18 years of age who have writer s cramp. Design: * Participants will be screened with a physical exam and medical history. * Participants will have one outpatient study visit that will last about 3 hours. * Participants will perform tasks related to writing, such as writing passages and drawing spirals and loops. They will be videotaped during these tasks. They will repeat some of the writing tasks three more times; on paper attached to a writing tablet, directly on the writing tablet, and on a computer tablet. * The angles made by the joints will be measured at rest not while writing healthy volunteers.