INVESTIGATING THE EFFECTIVENESS OF MEDICATION IN COMPARISON TO MEDICATION PLUS EMG BIOFEEDBACK ON QUALITY OF LIFE IN FEMALES WITH CHRONIC FOCAL DYSTONIA

Focal dystonia is a chronic disease with unwanted side effects. In addition to physical symptoms, it may exert a great impact on quality of life in patients. The aim of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of medication in comparison to medication plus EMG biofeedback on quality of life in females with chronic focal dystonia. This was a case-control study with pre-post-and follow-up phases. This study was consisted of 20 patients with spasmodic torticollis and 10 patients with blepharospasm. All the patients were already diagnosed by treating neurologists and were randomly selected and assigned into medication and medication plus EMG biofeedback groups. Both groups were kept on botulinum toxin type A and the second group which was receiving the drug for 10 weeks also participated in 20 sessions of EMG biofeedback treatment. The data were collected through the SF-36 questionnaire that was administered in the pre-test, post-test, and follow-up phases. The mean of SF-36 score in the Medication plus EMG biofeedback group showed a significantly higher increase in comparison to that of the medication group (p<0.05). The results suggested that medication plus EMG biofeedback was more effective than medication alone on the quality of life in females with chronic focal dystonia.