Functional Motor Disorder

Is a complex movement disorder that manifests in the absence of an ‘organic’ neurological dysfunction. This can present as weakness, gait or balance disturbance, abnormal limb posturing, tremors/shaking or ‘myoclonus’. Essentially the neurological system remains intact but there is ‘misinterpretation’ of signals from the central nervous system to the peripheral nervous system.

With a neurologically intact system this means that in essence there is good sensory-motor potential for recovery. This does not mean however that everybody with a diagnosis of FMD makes a recovery.

www.neurosymptoms.org is an extremely useful website in helping you to understand this condition in more depth.

The explanation of FMD is also essential in terms of recovery prognosis, there is frequently a misunderstanding amongst Healthcare Professionals that are not specialist in the area of Neurology. A poor explanation and delay in accessing therapies can be detrimental to longer term recovery.

If you would like to speak with the team at OT Rehab North East Ltd about how our input may be helpful for the management of your/your relative’s condition, then please do not hesitate to contact us to discuss in more depth.