If your arms, hands or legs shake or move involuntarily, you have a symptom called tremor. In the field of neurology, this type of involuntary movement is called a movement disorder.
If you have a tremor, you may be one of the people around the world with the most common type movement disorder called an essential tremor. Essential tremor occurs when your muscles do not work together. Therefore, your muscles become out of sync as you try to perform routine tasks or activities such as writing, eating or drinking your coffee.
What can the doctor do to help me?
If you visit a neurologist, she may ask about your family history. This is because if you have relatives with a tremor, then you will have a greater chance of being diagnosed with tremor. Your doctors may send you for bloodwork to look for medical conditions such as:
- Thyroid problems
- Electrolyte imbalances
- Toxin levels in your blood related to alcohol or drugs.
Certain medications can also cause movement disorder. Further, your health care provider should review your prescription and non-prescription medications that you are taking on a daily basis.
What if I have Parkinson’s?
Parkinson’s Disease is very different from essential tremor. Parkinson’s disease is a neurodegenerative disease which includes tremor as one of its disabling symptoms. However, the tremor caused by Parkinson’s occurs when your muscles are moving (at rest). Parkinson’s disease affects people more and more when with age.
It’s important to talk about your movement problems with your doctor. Your doctor may prescribe a medication if shaking disrupts your daily activities, such as eating or writing, or if you feel embarrassed because of your shaking. Also, doctors may refer you to other health professionals, such as occupational therapists. Therapists may direct you to use physical devices or tools, such as wrist weights or weighted sliverware to help get your muscles move more in sync.