What is "writer's cramp"

Writer \Writ"er\, n. [AS. wr[=i]tere.]

1. One who writes, or has written; a scribe; a clerk.

   They [came] that handle the pen of the writer.
   --Judg. v. 14.

   My tongue is the pen of a ready writer.
   --Ps. xlv. 1.

2. One who is engaged in literary composition as a profession; an author; as, a writer of novels.

   This pitch, as ancient writers do report, doth defile.
   --Shak.

3. A clerk of a certain rank in the service of the late East India Company, who, after serving a certain number of years, became a factor.

   Writer of the tallies (Eng. Law), an officer of the exchequer of England, who acted as clerk to the auditor of the receipt, and wrote the accounts upon the tallies from the tellers' bills. The use of tallies in the exchequer has been abolished.
   --Wharton (Law. Dict.)

   Writer's cramp, Writer's palsy or Writer's spasm (Med.), a painful spasmodic affection of the muscles of the fingers, brought on by excessive use, as in writing, violin playing, telegraphing, etc. Called also scrivener's palsy.

   Writer to the signet. See under Signet.

n. (context idiomatic English) A debilitate pain preventing easy movement of the wrist, hand, or fingers, resulting from prolonged use of a pen or pencil.

n. muscular spasms of thumb and forefinger while writing with a pen or pencil [syn: graphospasm]

Writer's cramp, also called mogigraphia and scrivener's palsy, is a disorder caused by cramps or spasms of certain muscles of the hand and/or forearm, and presents itself while performing fine motor tasks, such as writing or playing an instrument. Writer's cramp is a task-specific focal dystonia of the hand. 'Focal' refers to the symptoms being limited to one location (the hand in this case), and 'task-specific' means that symptoms first occur only when the individual engages in a particular activity. Writer's cramp first affects an individual by interfering with their ability to write, especially for prolonged periods of time.