An EMDR-based intervention for the ‘Golfers’ Yips’: A case series

There is no author summary for this article yet. Authors can add summaries to their articles on ScienceOpen to make them more accessible to a non-specialist audience.

Abstract

Abstract: Introduction: The yips in golfers is a task-specific movement disorder. Anxiety might play a role in its emergence and persistence. The objective was to report on the effect of an Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) based intervention on the yips by reducing anxiety. Methods: We present a case-series with seven golfers with observed right-handed yips. The participants were treated with EMDR in one or two sessions and were followed for one year. A bespoke Yips Rating Scale (YRS) was determined and golfing skills were assessed at baseline and after one year. Results: All participants completed treatment without complications. Follow-up data from six golfers after the intervention showed a positive effect of the EMDR based intervention on their yips symptoms. YRS scores improved after the intervention in 6 golfers (p=0.04) and golfers’ performance appeared to improve by an average of 20%. Conclusion: Anxiety might play a crucial role in the emergence and cultivation of the yips in golfers. The reduction of accompanying and anticipatory anxiety by means of EMDR in golfers seems safe and could be beneficial in diminishing the yips. Larger and better studies are needed to further evaluate the effect of EMDR in the golfer’s yips and other sport-related task-specific movement disorders.

Related collections

Most cited references 25

Record: found
Abstract: found
Article: found

Phenomenology and classification of dystonia: a consensus update.

Alberto Albanese, Kailash P. Bhatia, Susan B Bressman … (2013)

This report describes the consensus outcome of an international panel consisting of investigators with years of experience in this field that reviewed the definition and classification of dystonia. Agreement was obtained based on a consensus development methodology during 3 in-person meetings and manuscript review by mail. Dystonia is defined as a movement disorder characterized by sustained or intermittent muscle contractions causing abnormal, often repetitive, movements, postures, or both. Dystonic movements are typically patterned and twisting, and may be tremulous. Dystonia is often initiated or worsened by voluntary action and associated with overflow muscle activation. Dystonia is classified along 2 axes: clinical characteristics, including age at onset, body distribution, temporal pattern and associated features (additional movement disorders or neurological features); and etiology, which includes nervous system pathology and inheritance. The clinical characteristics fall into several specific dystonia syndromes that help to guide diagnosis and treatment. We provide here a new general definition of dystonia and propose a new classification. We encourage clinicians and researchers to use these innovative definition and classification and test them in the clinical setting on a variety of patients with dystonia. © 2013 Movement Disorder Society. © 2013 Movement Disorder Society.

0 comments Cited 335 times – based on 0 reviews      Review now

Bookmark

Record: found
Abstract: found
Article: not found

Focal dystonia in musicians: phenomenology, pathophysiology and triggering factors.

E. Altenmüller, H-C Jabusch (2010)

Musician's dystonia is a task-specific movement disorder that manifests itself as a loss of voluntary motor control in extensively trained movements. In many cases, the disorder terminates the careers of affected musicians. Approximately, 1% of all professional musicians are affected. The pathophysiology of the disorder is still unclear. Findings include: (i) reduced inhibition in different levels of the central nervous system, (ii) maladaptive plasticity, e.g. in the somatosensory cortex and in the basal ganglia and (iii) alterations in sensorimotor processing. Review of the literature. Epidemiological data demonstrated a higher risk for those musicians who play instruments requiring maximal fine-motor skills. For instruments where workload differs across hands, focal dystonia appears more often in the more intensely used hand. In psychological studies, musicians with dystonia had more perfectionist tendencies than healthy musicians. These findings strengthen the assumption that behavioural factors may be involved in the etiology of musician's dystonia. Hereditary factors may play a greater role than previously assumed. We propose a heuristic model that may explain the relatively high incidence of focal dystonia in musicians. This model assumes the coactions between a predominantly genetically determined predisposition and intrinsic and extrinsic triggering factors.