cervical dystonia

noun

: an often painful condition characterized by intermittent or sustained involuntary contraction of the neck muscles that causes the head to tilt or turn sideways, bend forward or backward, or jerk abnormally

Note: Cervical dystonia typically refers to torticollis of adult-onset and is usually of unknown cause but may be associated with neurodegenerative disease or injury.

Cervical dystonia … usually begins between the ages of 30 and 50 years, often with initial neck stiffness and restricted head mobility.

—Daniel Tarsy and David K. Simon

The doctors eventually told him the problem was cervical dystonia, which is a disorder caused by the lower part of the brain sending messages into the neck that cause the neck muscles to spasm …

—John Feinstein

called also spasmodic torticollis