Am I Getting Tremors?

Muscles are a key part of your body’s ability to move, working in combination with your bones, joints, nerves, and other connective tissue like tendons, ligaments, and cartilage. 

Part of how muscles move includes contractions, which is when they tighten and shorten as they perform a task. This is essential for several actions in your body, such as producing heat to maintain body temperature, ensure joint stability, and keep your posture.

Involuntary muscle contractions, known as tremors, can happen for a variety of reasons. If you think you may be dealing with muscle tremors, Dr. Lalani and our team at Irfan Lalani, MD, PA, in Sugar Land, Texas, are here to help.

To better understand if — and why — you may be experiencing this problem, let’s have a closer look at what muscle tremors are, why they occur, and how they might be treated.

Understanding tremors

The involuntary movement prompted by muscle tremors may be trembling, shaky, rapid, rhythmic, or cause a “back-and-forth” motion in whatever part of the body it affects. There are many different types of tremors, including:

• Resting tremors, which stop when you move the affected part of the body

• Pill or rolling tremors, which make it appear like your fingers are rolling a pill

• Intention tremors, which happen while attempting deliberate actions

• Action tremors, which occur when you move the area affected

• Cerebellar tremors, which are triggered by damage to the cerebellum

• Essential tremors, a mild, common tremor that often affects both sides

Tremors generally affect a specific area or body part, but can happen on both sides, and depending on the underlying cause, typically happen either while you’re moving or when you’re at rest. Tremors commonly affect the hands, arms, neck, jaw, abdomen, legs, or feet.

Causes of tremors

Tremors can emerge for several reasons, including:

Traumatic injuries

Impact damage to your head, like a traumatic brain injury (TBI), can lead to tremors and other complications.

Medical conditions

Illnesses like stroke, metabolic issues (hypocalcemia, hyperthyroidism, hypoglycemia), neurodegenerative diseases (Parkinson’s disease, multiple sclerosis), neurological illnesses (restless leg syndrome), and brain tumors can all give rise to tremors.

Drug side effects 

Some prescription medications can cause tremors or make them worse, including certain asthma medications, lithium, tricyclic antidepressants, second generation antipsychotics, methylphenidate (Ritalin®), fluoxetine (Prozac®), atorvastatin (Lipitor®), and the arrhythmia medication amiodarone.

How we can help with tremors

Treating the underlying cause or condition can help manage tremors and other symptoms. Given that there are multiple potential causes for this problem, there are several ways it can be managed, including:

• Medications, such as beta blockers, Botox® injections, anti-seizure drugs, and tranquilizers

• Nerve stimulation, such as a wearable peripheral nerve stimulation device to help ease essential tremors

• Therapy, including physical therapy or occupational therapy to ease essential tremors

• Surgery, such as deep brain stimulation and ultrasound thalamotomy when other treatment options don’t provide adequate relief

Whatever the cause of your tremors, we can find a way to ease the problem and address the cause. Call or click online to schedule an appointment with our team at Irfan Lalani, MD, PA, in Sugar Land, Texas, and get the expert care you need today.