Is Your Hand Trembling? It Could be A Sign of Essential Tremor

In your day today life, you will regularly come across many people. You often notice the shaking hands and legs in people you meet, especially elderly. There may be a specific reason behind the tremor in their hand or legs, or they are shaking for no particular reason. If you notice shaking in your hand or leg or in someone you know having such a problem, it is wise to schedule a tremor diagnostic evaluation with a Neurologist.

The condition you are experiencing is maybe an Essential tremor. It is a nervous system or neurological disorder. It causes involuntary and rhythmic shaking and can affect any part of your body. However, the trembling often occurs in hands, especially when doing simple things like drinking water in a glass or tying shoelaces.

It becomes evident for a patient to get tremor treatment in case things go out of control from an experienced Neurologist. The team at South Valley Neurology focuses all their energy and attention on each patient and provides compassionate care. At the same time, South Valley Neurology understands the anxiety the patients’ experience when experiencing challenging symptoms. They work closely with their patients to ease their fear and restore calm.

However, you can only feel at ease while getting treatment when you know your condition and its causes and symptoms. Here, you will read about essential tremors, their signs and symptoms, and their causes.

Essential tremor and its symptoms

A tremor is an instinctive shaking movement. It can affect one or more body parts because of uncontrollable muscle contractions. Mostly the muscle contractions start in the hands but can progress to the arms, legs, head, and even the vocal cords. There are three types of tremors.

Essential tremors

• Parkinsonian tremors
• Dystonic tremors

Often people confuse essential tremors with Parkinson’s disease. Essential tremor is not a dangerous condition. However, it worsens over time and can turn serious for some people. It is the most common type and typically affects the head, hands, legs, tongue, and truck.

The signs and symptoms of essential tremor according to South Valley Neurology include –

• Slowly begins on the side of the body
• Aggravate with movement
• Generally occurs in hands first, affects one or both hands
• Include head shaking in an up-down or sideways motion
• Fatigue, emotional stress, extreme temperature, and caffeine may aggravate the symptoms

Causes of tremors

Injuries or dysfunction in the part of the brain that contracts muscles lead to tremors. Other environmental factors and underlying conditions increasing the risk for tremble include –

• Liver or Kidney failure
• Hypothyroidism
• Neurological disorders
• Anxiety or Panic disorder
• Certain medications
• Excess use of alcohol

Sometimes, there are unknown reasons causing tremors in some people. The experts work closely with patients to control the tremors and improve the quality of their life. You may get medications, but they can ease the severity of the shaking and temporarily relax the muscles.

Deep brain stimulation surgery is also an option for severe tremors when medication is no longer an option for you. The procedure involves implanting a device into the body delivering electrical signals to the areas of the brain that supervise muscle movements.