What is Focal Dystonia
The symptom manifests as a permanent involuntary contraction of the muscles of one or more parts of the body.
Focal Dystonia is a type of dystonia that affects a muscle or group of muscles in a specific part of the body.
Musician’s Focal Dystonia (MFD) is a special group among Task-Specific Focal Dystonia as a consequence of a repetitive motor activity closely related to the professional activity performed by musicians.
It is manifested gradually and progressively.
Living with Focal Dystonia
Many times I have heard someone to say: “I am a hypertensive or diabetic person,” or “I am a dystonic musician.”
All these are labels that we put on ourselves that are not giving us anything positive and do not contribute at all to overcome the disease or condition that affects us.
Why? Because by this, we create such a strong identification with the pathology, that we forget who we really are. This is not only applicable when we are affected by a disease, but also when any unfavorable situation that comes in our life leads us to say phrases such as “I am an unhappy person”.
Recovery is possible
From my own experience, I want to share the most important conclusions that I have reached, after having recovered from the symptoms of Focal Dystonia that I suffered in the index and ring fingers of my right hand.
It has been a journey of personal search, research, intuition and common sense. A path of introspection and curiosity, wise choices and mistakes,… but above all these, a lot of determination, humility and patience.
The most important thing was to understand that the symptom did not keep any relation with any pathology of a physiological nature, but is was circumscribed to the scope of the brain and was closely related to what Dr. Moshe Feldenkrais calls “self-image”
This is my story
I am a Professor of Guitar, composer, arranger, and a passionate researcher about Musician’s Focal Dystonia, after having suffered this condition in the index and ring fingers of my right hand and having recovered completely by myself.
The symptoms appeared for the first time in 1990 on my index finger, while I was in the last year course of my guitar studies at the Royal Conservatory of Music of Madrid.
After a long pilgrimage of more than a year to the examination rooms of doctors, specialists, acupuncturists and all kinds of alternative physiotherapists, I only managed to get a name for what I suffered. It was no more and no less than an incurable disease called Focal Dystonia.
For eight years I believed what I had been told, until I decided, with a lot of determination and patience, to move toward my recovery. It was a work of reeducation of the movement in an extremely slow and aware way. In just under six years, my index finger worked perfectly again, but after that the symptoms appeared on the ring finger. I understood then, that in the work I had done I had left something important out: the origin of the problem.
Although this second time I counted with the advantage of my previous work, it was then, when I truly began a deep research and experimentation to dissolve that pattern that triggered those symptoms and dwelled in the emotional sphere.
Hi,
My name is Walter Silva
With the correct guidance, recovery from MFD (Musician’s Focal Dystonia) is possible.
If I have succeeded, you can also do!
Eternamente agradecido!
Walter, me siento muy feliz de informarte que, desde que hablamos, ha habido un cambio fundamental a la hora de abordar mi forma de tocar y he visto cambios realmente fundamentales. Creo que nuestra conversación hizo un clic en mi cabeza a un nivel profundo y me ha permitido ver cómo realmente debería pensar y reaccionar ante la tensión distónica. Puedo tocar con mucho menos espasmos y tensión y ahora, por primera vez, estoy 100% seguro de que la distonía finalmente estará en mi espejo retrovisor. ¡¡¡Muchas gracias !!! Estoy eternamente agradecido por tus consejos y la ayuda que me has brindado.
Gonçalo Crespo
Cuando contacté con Walter, encontré en él a una persona con gran empatía y muchas ganas de ayudar a aquellas personas que padecen distonía focal.
Para mí, tomar las sesiones con Walter ha sido lo mejor.Yo, ya me he recuperado en un 85 % y Walter me ha ayudado a entender el trastorno de la distonía focal y a verlo de una manera positiva y no como una enfermedad incurable.
Recomiendo a cualquier persona que esté padeciendo de distonía focal del músico, que se acerque a Walter.
Walter es una persona afable y sobre todo muy profesional que busca el bien antes que el beneficio económico de sus sesiones.Recomiendo a Walter 100 % y lo hago de todo corazón.
Oscar Almonte
Me impactó que él tiene un método muy definido y ofrece explicaciones y ejercicios prácticos y te dice por qué estás haciendo ese ejercicio y qué es lo que vas a conseguir al dominarlo.
Es una persona muy paciente, super profesional y es un gran maestro.
Cuando yo comencé a estudiar con Walter, no podía tocar simples arpegios. Por ejemplo, una pieza bien simple como “Romance Anónimo”. No podía hacer esos arpegios. Ahora, ya la puedo ejecutar!
Mi experiencia con el programa de Walter Silva ha sido excepcional. Walter es una gran persona, un Gran Maestro y no dudo en recomendar sus métodos y su ayuda.
Ron Mayorga
