Decisions regarding the management of post-stroke movement disorders should be individualized and based on each clinician’s experience. This reflects the scarcity of case-controlled, randomized clinical trials resulting from the difficulty in collecting appropriate sample sizes. Medical treatment of post-stroke movement disorders is similar to that for primary movement disorders, as they share common underlying pathomechanisms (
Table 1). Many cases of post-stroke movement disorders are transient and self-remitting, so no treatment or intervention is needed [
41]. Chorea is the most common post-stroke movement disorder [
22]. Persistent choreaballism in acute stroke patients needs to be treated, as this might cause significant patient discomfort [
3]. Anti-dopaminergic drugs that block the D1 and D2 receptors are the first choice in choreic movements. D3 and D4 receptor antagonists can be used and have the merit of a low risk of extrapyramidal side effects, such as parkinsonism and akinesia. Other atypical neuroleptics should be applied only in refractory cases [
5]. Presynaptic dopamine-depleting agents and catecholamine-depleting drugs, as well as GABA receptor agonists, can also be used in selected cases [
42]. Consideration for the side effects of each drug is important when choosing a drug for the devastating post-stroke chorea [
22]. For post-stroke dystonia, the symptoms rarely improve completely with treatment [
43]. Focal injections of botulinum toxin is the usual treatment option, and intrathecal baclofen can be tried for partial symptom relief [
5]. Other medical treatments include anticholinergics, baclofen, and benzodiazepam, which is similar to the treatment of primary dystonia. In addition, anti-dopaminergic agents can be tried. Tremor activation in post-stroke tremor disorder is both resting and postural/kinetic [
7,
13,
41]. Although the response to pharmacological treatment of vascular tremors is limited, the treatment options should be decided based on the type of tremor. Of the specific forms of tremor, symptomatic rubral (midbrain) and palatal tremor are usually caused by stroke lesions in the dentate-rubro-thalamic circuits. Limited but potential benefits were reported for propranolol, clonazepam, dopaminergic agents and anti-epileptic drugs, including valproic acid and levetiracetam [
22,
44]. However, for most refractory cases, surgical intervention and focal botulinum toxin injections are required [
45-
47]. Post-stroke secondary myoclonus is mostly transient and does not require management. GABAergic drugs (valoproic acid and clonazepam) enhance inhibitory neurotransmission, and levetiracetam and piracetam can be used for symptomatic treatment [
48,
49]. Some clinicians recommend a combination of these drugs to lessen adverse events. Vascular parkinsonism is characterized by symmetric akinesia and gait impairment [
50,
51]. The effect of representative treatment with levodopa for vascular parkinsonism may be poor and short-lasting [
1,
3]. Post-stroke RLS is not uncommon in the acute stroke phase (17 out of 137 cases) and has been associated with dysfunction of the subcortical dopaminergic system of the basal ganglia and thalamus [
18,
52]. Secondary RLS associated with acute stroke is mostly transient and improves without medication. When treatment is required, dopaminergic agents might help to relieve symptoms [
18]. Treatment of post-stroke tics is the same as with primary tics: clonidine, neuroleptics, dopaminedepleting agents can be applied [
53].
In drug-resistant and devastating post-stroke movement disorders, surgical intervention can be considered. For secondary movement disorders caused by vascular hypoperfusion of the carotid or vertebrobasilar artery, revascularization surgery may result in near complete symptom improvement [
54-
58]. Chronic motor cortex stimulation was originally used for post-stroke pain control, but effective control of involuntary movements (choreo-athetosis, action and resting tremor) can also be obtained [
59]. Several mechanisms of action, including hyperdirect motor cortex-subthalamic nucleus input, cortical inhibition, and plastic changes, have been proposed for motor cortex stimulation in various movement disorders [
60]. Movement disorders attributed to moyamoya syndrome can be improved through bypass surgery [
38]. Deep brain stimulation (DBS) targeting the globus pallidus and thalamic nucleus (nucleus ventralis oralis posterior, nucleus ventralis intermedius) are other useful options for treating drug-refractory chorea and/or dystonia [
5,
43,
61,
62]. Pallidotomy, thalamotomy and DBS of the thalamus in patients with severe tremor, including a high amplitude and low frequency, are several treatment options worth trying for symptomatic control [
5,
45].
Proper rehabilitation is needed for most stroke patients [
63]. Physical and occupational therapy have become important assistive therapeutic options for secondary movement disorders. Physical therapy is helpful for both hypokinetic and hyperkinetic movement disorders, such as vascular parkinsonism and dystonia, which are associated with postural deformity and balance problems [
64,
65]. Physical therapy and brace devices [
3,
5], as well as proprioceptive rehabilitation [
66], may be applied for movement disorders after stroke.