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Some people very often experience an uncontrollable shaking of their hands or different body parts. Medically, the condition is called an essential tremor. It is when tremors shake your different body parts (mostly hands), and no matter how much you try, you cannot control it. Other than hands, essential tremor sometimes affects your voice, your lips, neck, back or legs. Although the condition, most of the time, has no negative repercussions on your long term health and hence doesn't need to be treated as such, it may however become a nuisance while going by your daily chores. So if anyone you know has it, how do you manage the essential tremors? Let us find out:
Causes Of Essential Tremors
According to the estimates by experts, essential tremors affect about 1% of all people worldwide, and about 5% of people over age 60. In the earlier stages of essential tremor, it is a non-issue for many. Some individuals may experience minor issues with performing particular actions, but many can compensate. However, there will come a time when essential tremor may become an issue with fine-detail work and activities, such as handwriting, performing tasks with eating utensils, sewing or anything that requires practical precision.
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“The cause of essential tremor is still unknown. According to research one possibility is that the communication isn’t working correctly between your cerebellum (which is responsible for controlling muscle coordination) and other parts of your brain. With most people, this condition appears to be inherited from a parent. When one of your parents has ET, you & your children have a 50% chance of receiving the genetic problem. According to research, other reasons may include anxiety, fatigue, lack of sleep, excessive caffeine intake, vigorous exercise or an overactive thyroid,” Dr Sameer Arora, Neurologist, Medsarc Advanced Superspeciality Clinics, Gurugram, says.
How To Manage Essential Tremors?
Dr Arora suggests a few strategies with the help of which, you can effectively manage essential tremors, however if the severity of the condition worsens, it is advisable to pay your doctor a visit:
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Lifestyle Changes:
A few possible lifestyle changes that may help to decrease hand tremors in people with enhanced physiologic tremor are:
- Avoiding vigorous exercise
- Not drinking excessive amounts of alcohol
- Not taking stimulants, like caffeine and amphetamines
Treating underlying conditions:
Hand tremors that are associated with an underlying condition, such as hyperthyroidism or alcohol withdrawal, usually resolve, following appropriate treatment.
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Psychological techniques:
Individuals who experience tremors associated with anxiety or panic attacks may benefit from using relaxation techniques such as mindfulness and breathing exercises.
Switching medications:
An individual who experiences tremors while taking medication should report the side effect to their physician. It may be possible for the physician to adjust the dosage of the medication or switch the individual to another medication.
Physical therapy:
A therapist might advise physical exercises like muscle control, functioning, and strenght, or co-ordination and balance. Meditation may also help.
Bottomline
People who develop tremors suddenly in their hands or other parts of their body should see their doctor to get a diagnosis. The doctor will want to rule out a more serious cause where some would need prompt medical treatment. If a person has tremors and those tremors worsen or begin to interfere with their daily life, seeing a doctor would also be a good decision. Most tremors are chronic and hence are untreatable , but there are ways to help a person manage symptoms.