Prevention of tardive dyskinesia is achieved by using the lowest effective dose of a neuroleptic for the shortest time. However, with diseases of chronic psychosis such as schizophrenia, this strategy must be balanced with the fact that increased dosages of neuroleptics are more beneficial in preventing recurrence of psychosis. If tardive dyskinesia is diagnosed, the causative drug should be discontinued. Tardive dyskinesia may persist after withdrawal of the drug for months, years or even permanently. Some studies suggest that physicians should consider using atypical antipsychotics as a substitute to typical antipsychotics for patients requiring medication. These agents are associated with fewer neuromotor side effects and a lower risk of developing tardive dyskinesia.

Recent studies have tested the use of melatonin, high dosage vitamins, and different antioxidants in concurrence with antipsychotic drugs (often used to treat schizophrenia) as a way of preventing and treating tardive dyskinesia. Although further research is needed, studies reported a much lower percentage of individuals developing tardive dyskinesia than the current prevalence rate for those taking antipsychotic drugs.

Tardive dyskinesia most commonly occurs in patients with psychiatric conditions who are treated with antipsychotic medications for many years. The average prevalence rate has been estimated to be around 30% for individuals taking antipsychotic medication, such as that used to treat schizophrenia. A study being conducted at the Yale University School of Medicine has estimated that "32% of patients develop persistent tics after 5 years on major tranquilizers, 57% by 15 years, and 68% by 25 years." More drastic data was found during a longitudinal study conducted on individuals 45 years of age and older who were taking antipsychotic drugs. According to this research study, 26% of patients developed tardive dyskinesia after just one year on the medication. Another 60% of this at-risk group developed the disorder after 3 years, and 23% developed "severe" cases of tardive dyskinesia within 3 years. According to these estimates, the majority of patients will eventually develop the disorder if they remain on the drugs long enough.

Elderly patients are more prone to develop tardive dyskinesia, and elderly women are more at-risk than elderly men. The risk is much lower for younger men and women, and also more equal across the sexes. Patients who have undergone electro-convulsive therapy or have a history of diabetes or alcohol abuse also have a higher risk of developing tardive dyskinesia.

Several studies have recently been conducted comparing the prevalence rate of tardive dyskinesia with second generation, or more modern, antipsychotic drugs to that of first generation drugs. The newer antipsychotics appear to have a substantially reduced potential for causing tardive dyskinesia. However, some studies express concern that the prevalence rate has decreased far less than expected, cautioning against the overestimation of the safety of modern antipsychotics.

A physician can evaluate and diagnose a patient with tardive dyskinesia by conducting a systematic examination. The physician should ask the patient to relax, and look for symptoms like facial grimacing, eye or lip movements, tics, respiratory irregularities, and tongue movements. In some cases, patients experience nutritional problems, so a physician can also look for a gain or loss in weight.

Apart from the underlying psychiatric disorder, tardive dyskinesia may cause afflicted people to become socially isolated. It also increases the risk of dysmorphophobia and can even lead to suicide. Emotional or physical stress can increase the severity of dyskinetic movements, whereas relaxation and sedation have the opposite effect.

Published epidemiological data for akathisia are mostly limited to treatment periods preceding the arrival of second-generation antipsychotics. Sachdev (1995) reported an incidence rate of acute akathisia of 31% for 100 patients treated for 2 weeks with antipsychotic medications. Sachdev (1995) reported a prevalence range from 0.1% to 41%. In all likelihood, rates of prevalence are lower for current treatment as second-generation antipsychotics carry a lower risk of akathisia.

Paroxysmal Dyskinesia is not a fatal disease. Life can be extremely difficult with this disease depending on the severity. The prognosis of PD is extremely difficult to determine because the disease varies from person to person. The attacks for PKD can be reduced and managed with proper anticonvulsants, but there is no particular end in sight for any of the PD diseases. PKD has been described to cease for some patients after the age of 20, and two patients have reported to have a family history of the disease where PKD went into complete remission after the age of 23. With PNKD and PED, at this time, there is no proper way to determine an accurate prognosis.

The presence and severity of akathisia can be measured using the Barnes Akathisia Scale, which assesses both objective and subjective criteria. Precise assessment of akathisia is problematic, as it is difficult to differentiate from a multitude of disorders with similar symptoms. In a study of movement disorders induced by neuroleptics, akathisia was found in only 26% of patients originally diagnosed with akathisia. The primary distinguishing features of akathisia in comparison with other syndromes are primarily subjective characteristics, such as the feeling of inner restlessness. Akathisia can commonly be mistaken for agitation secondary to psychotic symptoms or mood disorder, antipsychotic dysphoria, restless legs syndrome (RLS), anxiety, insomnia, drug withdrawal states, tardive dyskinesia, or other neurological and medical conditions.

Additionally, the controversial diagnosis of "pseudoakathisia" is given, as noted by Mark J. Garcia. In his article discussing akathisia among adults with severe and profound intellectual disability, he describes pseudoakathisia as "comprising all the symptoms of abnormal movements seen with akathisia, but without a sense of restlessness".

The guidelines for diagnosing PKD were reviewed and confirmed by Unterberger and Trinka. PKD consists of unexpected forms of involuntary movements of the body. The patient is usually diagnosed sometime before their 20's, and is more likely diagnosed during childhood than early adulthood. Almost all PKD's are idiopathic, but there have been examples of autosomal dominant inheritance as well. Physical examination and brain imaging examinations show normal results, and an EEG shows no specific abnormalities as well. However, the negative synchronous EEG results can be used to prove that PKD is not a sort of reflex epilepsy, but a different disease.

PKD is the most prevalent subtype of paroxysmal dyskinesia, encompassing over 80% of all given PD diagnosis. PKD is more prevalent in boys, usually as high as 3.75:1.

Tardive dysphrenia is characterized by a worsening of psychiatric symptoms that can be directly traced to the administration of antipsychotic medication.

Six symptoms are considered when diagnosing tardive dysphrenia:

A) The patient shows:

B) The symptoms are present for a full four weeks (full two weeks if successfully treated by immediate reinstitution or augmentation with a more potent drug and/or the rising of the previous drug) and contain any of these patterns:

C) Criteria A & B signs and symptoms emerge progressively with the administration of an oral antipsychotic drug or during the four-weeks period that follows its withdrawal (8 weeks for dépôt formulations).

D) There has been any exposure to a typical and/or atypical antipsychotic drug for at least three full months (full 12 weeks), or 1 full month (full 4 weeks) if the patient is sixty years old or older.

E) The clinical signs and symptoms cannot be attributed to another psychiatric condition, neurological condition, somatic illness, or severe stress. Also, exposure to other psychosis-inducing medicines must be excluded.

F) The signs and symptoms could not be better explained by an eventual previous psychiatric/neurological condition unfavorable natural evolution (i.e., Primary Refractory or poor prognosis Schizophrenia; severe Acute Mania; Dementia with Psychotic Symptoms) or by Neuroleptic Dysphoria.

Paroxysmal kinesigenic dyskinesia is diagnosed using a strict set of guidelines. These criteria were studied and confirmed by Bruno et al. in a study of 121 individuals with PKD. The age at onset is between 1 and 20 years old. The attacks of involuntary movements last less than one minute and have a known trigger, usually a sudden voluntary movement. For example, if a PKD patient stands up or begins walking after being sedentary for a period of time, or a person goes from a walk to a run, it can trigger an attack. Persons with PKD do not lose consciousness during attacks and have a full memory of the entire attack. Lastly, people with the disorder have a good response to medication and are usually prescribed anticonvulsants. The study also found that patients with familial PKD exhibit symptoms that follow the diagnostic criteria closely, while sporadic PKD individuals may deviate slightly. Prior to criteria for diagnosis being set out, many patients with PKD were often diagnosed with some form of epilepsy. Many patients also experience an aura, similar to those experienced with epilepsy, preceding their attacks. Some patients describe it as a tingling sensation in the affected limb or “butterflies in their stomach.” Some individuals also have precipitants, such as stress and anxiety, that make it more likely for attacks to occur.

The above diagnostic criteria also set PKD apart from the other paroxysmal dyskinesias, which include paroxysmal nonkinesigenic dyskinesia (PNKD) and paroxysmal exercise-induced dyskinesia (PED). While PKD attacks last less than one minute, PNKD attacks last a few minutes to a few hours, and as the name suggests, the attacks do not occur because of a sudden voluntary movement like PKD. Additionally, PKD can almost always be managed with drug therapy, while PNKD is not as responsive to anticonvulsants. PED, on the other hand, separates itself from PKD in that it is caused by prolonged exercise. Attacks from PED will cease soon after exercise is stopped.

Step I : Decide the dominant type of movement disorder

Step II : Make differential diagnosis of the particular disorder

Step II: Confirm the diagnosis by lab tests

- Metabolic screening

- Microbiology

- Immunology

- CSF examination

- Genetics

- Imaging

- Neurophysiological tests

- Pharmacological tests

Anticholinergic drugs are used to control neuroleptic-induced EPS, although akathisia may require beta blockers or even benzodiazepines. If the EPS are induced by an antipsychotic, EPS may be reduced by dose titration or by switching to an atypical antipsychotic, such as aripiprazole, ziprasidone, quetiapine, olanzapine, risperidone, or clozapine. These medications possess an additional mode of action that is believed to negate their effect on the nigrostriatal pathway, which means they are associated with fewer extrapyramidal side-effects than "conventional" antipsychotics (chlorpromazine, haloperidol, etc.), although some research has shown that second generation neuroleptics cause EPS at the same rate as the first generation drugs.

Commonly used medications for EPS are anticholinergic agents such as benztropine (Cogentin), diphenhydramine (Benadryl), and trihexyphenidyl (Artane). Another common course of treatment includes dopamine agonist agents such as pramipexole. These medications reverse the symptoms of extrapyramidal side effects caused by antipsychotics or other drugs that either directly or indirectly inhibit dopaminergic neurotransmission.

Studies are yet to be undertaken on the optimum dosage of the causative drugs to reduce their side effects (extrapyramidal symptoms (EPS)).

Since paroxysmal exercise-induced dystonia is such a rare disorder it makes it difficult to study the disease and find consistencies. Many of the current studies seem to have contradicting conclusion but this is due to the fact that studies are usually limited to a very small number of test subjects. With such small numbers it is hard to determine what is a trend and what is random when in comes to characterizing the disease. Further study is needed to find better diagnostic techniques and treatments for PED. Patients with PED are living a limited lifestyle since simple tasks like walking and exercise are often impossible.

Almost all patients respond positively to antiepileptic (anticonvulsant) drugs. One of the drugs most often mentioned in the literature is carbamazepine, and is the most widely used drug for treating PKD. Other anticonvulsants like valproic acid, phenytoin and clonazepam are common alternatives. Other categories of drugs have also been used, such as dopamine affecting drugs like Levodopa or Tetrabenazine. Individuals with the disorder can also modify their behavior to lessen their attacks without the influence of drug therapy. For example, decreasing stress to avoid precipitants can help patients decrease the number of attacks. In addition, avoiding any sudden movements can also prevent an attack. In order to prevent an attack, some individuals use their auras as a warning, while others purposefully perform slow gestures or movements prior to a triggering movement. Many, if not most, individuals end up growing out of the attacks with age, even without medicinal therapy, but some patients will go back to having attacks after a period of remission. In regards to secondary PKD, treatment of the primary condition can lessen the PKD attacks in those individuals.

Treatment depends upon the underlying disorder. Movement disorders have been known to be associated with a variety of autoimmune diseases.

Extrapyramidal symptoms (EPS), also known as extrapyramidal side effects (EPSE), are drug-induced movement disorders that include acute and tardive symptoms. These symptoms include dystonia (continuous spasms and muscle contractions), akathisia (motor restlessness), parkinsonism (characteristic symptoms such as rigidity), bradykinesia (slowness of movement), tremor, and tardive dyskinesia (irregular, jerky movements). Antipsychotics are often discontinued due to inefficacy and intolerable side effects such as extrapyramidal symptoms.

Since it is difficult to measure extrapyramidal symptoms, rating scales are commonly used to assess the severity of movement disorders. The Simpson-Angus Scale (SAS), Barnes Akathisia Rating Scale (BARS), Abnormal Involuntary Movement Scale (AIMS), and Extrapyramidal Symptom Rating Scale (ESRS) are rating scales frequently used for such assessment and are not weighted for diagnostic purposes; these scales can help physicians weigh the benefit/expected benefit of a medication against the degree of distress which the side effects are causing the patient, aiding in the decision to maintain, reduce, or discontinue the causative medication/s.

As with other neuroleptic-induced tardive syndromes, there is no definite treatment for tardive dysphrenia. The continuing to take the drug or changing the dosage of the atypical antipsychotic drug in use, or augmenting it with a typical antipsychotic, can alleviate symptoms temporarily. However, these solutions carry the risk of worsening or perpetuating the iatrogenesis in the long term.

Some patients could gradually benefit from changing to a dopamine D2 receptor partial agonist agent like clozapine. These drugs do not induce up-regulation, instead acting as a prophylactic.

Sporadic cases may be brought on by minor head injuries and concussions. This was observed in one patient who started experiencing painless dystonia after mild exercise following a concussion. More research still needs to be done to determine how injuries can induce PED, as little is known in this area. Two cases of PED have been associated with insulinomas, after removal of which the symptoms of PED were resolved.

Anticholinergic drugs have been reported to be extremely effective in 40% of the patients with the Pisa syndrome. Patients with Pisa syndrome that is resistant to anticholinergic drugs is mostly resolved by the reduction of the administration of the antipsychotic drugs as previously mentioned. While the specific pathology underlying idiopathic Pisa syndrome is unknown, the administration of anticholinergic drugs has provided resolution in known cases.

There are two lines of treatment for Pisa syndrome. The first line entails discontinuation or reduction in dose of the antipsychotic drug(s). The second line of treatment is an anticholinergic medication. A pharmacological therapy for Pisa syndrome caused by prolonged use of antipsychotic drugs has not been established yet.

Immediate treatment of drug induced OGC can be achieved with intravenous antimuscarinic benzatropine or procyclidine; which usually are effective within 5 minutes, although may take as long as 30 minutes for full effect. Further doses of procyclidine may be needed after 20 minutes. Any causative new medication should be discontinued. Also can be treated with 25 mg diphenhydramine.

Two other types, primary ciliary dyskinesia and biliary dyskinesia, are caused by specific kinds of ineffective movement of the body, and are not movement disorders.

Spastic thrusting of hip area can occur in Sodemytopic Parkinson's.

Acute dystonia is a sustained muscle contraction that sometimes appears soon after administration of antipsychotic medications. Any muscle in the body may be affected, including the jaw, tongue, throat, arms, or legs. When the throat muscles are involved, this type of dystonia is called an acute laryngospasm and is a medical emergency because it can impair breathing. Older antipsychotics such as Haloperidol or Fluphenazine are more likely to cause acute dystonia than newer agents. Giving high doses of antipsychotics by injection also increases the risk of developing acute dystonia.

Methamphetamine, other amphetamines and dopaminergic stimulants including cocaine and pemoline can produce choreoathetoid dyskinesias; the prevalence, time-frame and prognosis are not well established. Amphetamines also cause a dramatic increase in choreoathetoid symptoms in patients with underlying chorea such as Sydenham’s, Huntington’s, and Lupus. Long-term use of amphetamines may increase the risk of Parkinson's disease (PD): in one retrospective study with over 40,000 participants it was concluded that amphetamine abusers generally had a 200% higher chance of developing PD versus those with no history of abuse; the risk was much higher in women, almost 400%. There remains some controversy as of 2017.

Levodopa-induced dyskinesia (LID) is evident in patients with Parkinson's disease who have been on levodopa () for prolonged periods of time. LID commonly first appears in the foot, on the most affected side of the body. There are three main types that can be classified on the basis of their course and clinical presentation following an oral dose of :

- Off-period dystonia – correlated to the akinesia that occurs before the full effect of sets in, when the plasma levels of are low. In general, it occurs as painful spasms in the foot. Patients respond to therapy.

- Diphasic dyskinesia – occurs when plasma L-DOPA levels are rising or falling. This form occurs primarily in the lower limbs (though they can happen elsewhere) and is usually dystonic (characterized by apparent rigidity within muscles or groups thereof) or (characterized by involuntary movement of muscles) and will not respond to dosage reductions.

- Peak-dose dyskinesia – the most common form of levodopa-induced dyskinesia; it correlates with the plateau plasma level. This type usually involves the upper limbs more (but could also affect the head, trunk and respiratory muscles), is choreic (of chorea), and less disabling. Patients will respond to reduction but may be accompanied by deterioration of parkinsonism. Peak-dose L-DOPA-induced dyskinesia has been suggested to be associated with cortical dysregulation of dopamine signaling.

Computed tomography (CT) scans of people with PD usually appear normal. MRI has become more accurate in diagnosis of the disease over time, specifically through iron-sensitive T2* and SWI sequences at a magnetic field strength of at least 3T, both of which can demonstrate absence of the characteristic 'swallow tail' imaging pattern in the dorsolateral substantia nigra. In a meta-analysis, absence of this pattern was 98% sensitive and 95% specific for the disease. Diffusion MRI has shown potential in distinguishing between PD and Parkinson plus syndromes, though its diagnostic value is still under investigation. CT and MRI are also used to rule out other diseases that can be secondary causes of parkinsonism, most commonly encephalitis and chronic ischemic insults, as well as less frequent entities such as basal ganglia tumors and hydrocephalus.

Dopamine-related activity in the basal ganglia can be directly measured with PET and SPECT scans. A finding of reduced dopamine-related activity in the basal ganglia can rule out drug-induced parkinsonism, but reduced basal ganglia dopamine-related activity is seen in both PD and the Parkinson-plus disorders so these scans are not reliable in distinguishing PD from other neurodegenerative causes of parkinsonism.

Drugs that can trigger an oculogyric crisis include neuroleptics (such as haloperidol, chlorpromazine, fluphenazine, olanzapine), carbamazepine, chloroquine, cisplatin, diazoxide, levodopa, lithium, metoclopramide, lurasidone, domperidone, nifedipine, pemoline, phencyclidine ("PCP"), reserpine, and cetirizine, an antihistamine. High-potency neuroleptics are probably the most common cause in the clinical setting.

Other causes can include postencephalitic Parkinson's, Tourette's syndrome, multiple sclerosis, neurosyphilis, head trauma, bilateral thalamic infarction, lesions of the fourth ventricle, cystic glioma of the third ventricle, herpes encephalitis, kernicterus and juvenile Parkinson's.

Choreoathetosis is the occurrence of involuntary movements in a combination of chorea (irregular migrating contractions) and athetosis (twisting and writhing).

It is caused by many different diseases and agents. It is a symptom of several diseases, including Lesch-Nyhan Syndrome, phenylketonuria, and Huntington disease.

Choreoathetosis is also a common presentation of dyskinesia as a side effect of levodopa-carbidopa in the treatment of Parkinson disease.

Spasmodic torticollis is a form of focal dystonia, a neuromuscular disorder that consists of sustained muscle contractions causing repetitive and twisting movements and abnormal postures in a single body region. There are two main ways to categorize spasmodic torticollis: age of onset, and cause. The disorder is categorized as early onset if the patient is diagnosed before the age of 27, and late onset thereafter. The causes are categorized as either primary (idiopathic) or secondary (symptomatic). Spasmodic torticollis can be further categorized by the direction and rotation of head movement.