Opisthotonos is a condition in which the body is held in an abnormal position. The person is usually rigid and arches the back, with the head thrown backward. If a person with opisthotonos lies on his or her back, only the back of the head and the heels touch the supporting surface.

See: Abnormal posturing

Opisthotonos is much more common in infants and children than in adults. It is also more exaggerated in infants and children because of their less mature nervous systems.

Opisthotonos may occur in infants with meningitis. It may also occur as a sign of reduced brain function or injury to the nervous system.

Other causes may include:

• Arnold-Chiari syndrome (a problem with the structure of the brain)
• Brain tumor
• Gaucher disease
• Growth hormone deficiency (occasionally)
• Glutaric aciduria and organic acidemias (forms of chemical poisoning)
• Krabbe Disease
• Seizures
• Severe electrolyte imbalance
• Severe head injury
• Stiff-person syndrome (a condition that makes a person rigid and have spasms)
• Subarachnoid hemorrhage (bleeding in the brain)
• Tetanus

Drugs such as phenothiazines and other antipsychotic medications, can cause a side effect called acute dystonic reaction. Opisthotonos may be part of this reaction.

In rare cases, infants born to women who drink large amounts of alcohol during pregnancy may have opisthotonus due to alcohol withdrawal.

Next Section

Opisthotonos Treatment

Review Date: 04/01/2011
Reviewed By: Jacob L. Heller, MD, MHA, Emergency Medicine, Virginia Mason Medical Center, Seattle, Washington. Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, Medical Director, A.D.A.M., Inc.

A.D.A.M., Inc. is accredited by URAC, also known as the American Accreditation HealthCare Commission (www.urac.org)