Movement Disorders and Functional Neurosurgery Program

If you or a loved one has a movement disorder—a neurological condition that affects your ability to control your movements or move easily—the UMass Memorial Neurosurgery Movement Disorders and Functional Neurosurgery Program can help.

Movement Disorders We Treat

Our multidisciplinary team of neurologists and neurosurgeons are experts in the diagnosis and treatment of the full range of movement disorders, including: 

• Parkinson’s disease
• Dystonia, involuntary muscle contractions that cause repetitive or twisting movements
• Spasticity, a condition in which certain muscles are continuously contracted
• Ataxia, a lack of muscle coordination that can affect speech, eye movements, the ability to swallow, walking and other voluntary movements
• Essential tremor, a nervous system disorder that causes rhythmic shaking
• Neuromuscular disorders such as multiple sclerosis (MS), amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), muscular dystrophy and myasthenia gravis
• Tourette’s syndrome
• Progressive supranuclear palsy, an uncommon brain disorder that causes serious problems with walking, balance and eye movements
• Tardive dyskinesia, a condition affecting the nervous system, often caused by long-term use of some psychiatric drugs

Services We Offer for Treating Movement Disorders

This program offers comprehensive medical and surgical care for the treatment of a wide array of movement disorders:

• We offer the full range of medical therapies, including L-DOPA therapy for Parkinson’s disease, beta blockers for tremor, and Botox injections for dystonia
• When medications are not enough, our fellowship-trained neurosurgeons can perform deep brain stimulation (DBS) or ablative surgery
• Using state-of- the-art treatment methods such as nerve decompression, nerve stimulation and nerve ablation techniques, we also provide treatment for spasticity and chronic pain disorders such as trigeminal neuralgia, occipital neuralgia, failed back syndrome, spasticity and peripheral nerve disorders

Click here to learn more about Neurosurgery services at Umass Memorial Medical Center.

To schedule an appointment with our Movement Disorders Program, please call 508-334-0605.