What is Essential Tremor? Causes, Symptoms & Treatment Options Explained

What is Essential Tremor? Causes, Symptoms & Treatment Options Explained

Handshaking isn’t all that uncommon. Many people associate shaking with nervousness, stress, or old age. Persistent shaking, however, could be linked with a neurological condition called Essential Tremor. This condition causes uncontrollable shaking in various parts of your body. It’s a worldwide common occurrence among numerous other movement disorders, and it is a common misconception that people with Essential Tremor are also afflicted with Parkinson’s disease.

Essential Tremor can have a range of impacts on your day-to-day life, especially activities that you may find frustrating, casual, and, to some extent, embarrassing. This includes sipping a cup of tea, writing a note, or the simplest activity of all, which is using your phone. Even if the condition you specifically have is not going to cause you bodily harm, it still absolutely can make you feel nervous and impact your social life and ability to be self-reliant.

This article will teach you about Essential Tremor and how it is caused. Common symptoms, how it is diagnosed, and what options are available to treat the condition will also be discussed.

What Is Essential Tremor?

Essential Tremor is an involuntary neurological disorder that causes rhythmic shaking of specific parts of the body. Typically, it impacts your hands and arms the most, but can also include your head, voice, jaw, or legs.

Shaking can also be more prevalent when doing basic tasks such as:

• Writing
• Eating
• Drinking
• Buttoning clothing
• Holding things

Tremors caused by Essential Tremor can be much more noticeable when you are performing a movement as opposed to when you are simply at rest.

While people of all ages can have this disorder, it is much more common in the adult population, specifically those who are older than 40 years old. There are many instances in which the symptoms range from mild and entirely manageable to them becoming more severe over time and without reason.

What Causes Essential Tremor?

Essential Tremor is poorly characterized. Researchers think that it has to do with the improper communication of some regions in the brain, especially in the cerebellum, which coordinates the movements of the rest of the body.

Genetic Factors

Many people with Essential Tremor report that their relatives also have it. Reports also state that approximately fifty per cent of people with Essential Tremor have a parent who also had it. This is commonly known as familial tremor.

If one parent suffers from Essential Tremor, their children have a higher probability of also suffering from it.

Other Possible Triggers

While the underlying cause of tremor may be unknown, there are a number of situations that can worsen or aggravate tremor. These include the following:

• Stress
• Anxiety
• Fatigue
• Lack of sleep
• Excess caffeine
• Certain medications
• Withdrawal from alcohol
• Emotional hardships or distress

While these situations do not cause Essential Tremor, they do, in fact, cause a severity in the symptoms.

Common Symptoms of Essential Tremor

The most common symptom of Essential Tremor includes tremor that occurs with any voluntary body movement, and also occurs at rest. The tremor can develop in a rapid fashion and become worse over time.

Some symptoms include:

• Tremor of the hands when holding something
• Tremor of the voice
• Shaking when trying to eat or drink and spilling all over the place
• Tremor that occurs with stress or while at rest
• Tremor of the head and also difficulty with movements that require a lot of coordination

The tremor is usually bilateral and symmetric, with one hemisphere being more dominant and affected more.

When is it Important to Consult with a Healthcare Provider?

It is advisable to schedule an appointment if you have hand tremors:

• Start to disrupt day-to-day activities.
• Start to escalate the severity.
• It starts to become severe enough to become a social concern.
• Start to present with other nerve-related issues.

Prompt evaluation and diagnosis can narrow down the different possibilities a diagnosis depends on and allow for better treatment of the symptoms.

Understanding the Diagnosis of Essential Tremor

When it comes to a diagnosis of Essential Tremor, it is very common not to have a confirming test. In most cases, the diagnosis is dependent on reviewing the person’s medical history, how the current symptoms are presenting, and completing a neurological physical assessment.

While the physician is in the process of completing the assessment of the person with Essential Tremor, they will typically review the following:

• Family history of hand tremor
• When the tremor occurs
• What activities are impacted by the person’s hand tremors
• What medications the person is currently taking
• Current lifestyle of the person

Physical Assessment

During the assessment, the physician will review:

• How the person is using their hands
• The person’s overall coordination
• The person’s balance
• The person’s muscles and overall strength
• The person’s reflexes

It is common for hands to be asked to complete certain objectives, such as completing a drawing or writing out a note and to be asked to hold a small object.

Further Evaluation

To confirm a diagnosis, your physician may order a scan or a blood test to rule out:

• Parkinson’s
• Thyroid Issues
• Multiple sclerosis
• Prescribed medication and its potential side effects

Understanding what is causing the symptoms of tremors is crucial, as it will dictate the treatment plan.

What are your Treatment Options for Essential Tremor

Once tremors become disruptive to a person’s day-to-day routine, it is common for a physician to counsel the person on medication interventions. In cases of mild tremors, it is common to forgo the need for a treatment plan based on medications and other medical interventions.

There are other ways to minimize the tremor impact in a person’s daily life. A person may find it helpful to do the following:

• Reduce caffeine
• Incorporate stress management programs
• Increase sleep hygiene practices
• Eliminate the use of any alcohol
• Use weighted utensils

Medications for Essential Tremor

Doctors usually use medication to manage the symptoms of patients with essential tremors.

Beta Blockers

Some tremors may lessen with the use of propranolol.

Anti-Seizure Medications

Some anti-seizure medication can help with the nerves that cause tremors.

There is no guarantee that patients will respond to the medication in the same manner. Medication may also need to be modified in the future.

Advanced Treatment Options

If medication is insufficient in managing the symptoms of essential tremors, further treatment options may be necessary.

Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS)

DBS is a method in which tiny electrodes are implanted into the brain to help disrupt the pathways in the brain that cause the tremors. An implanted device in the chest also delivers small electrical impulses to help the patient regain control of their movement.

DBS is also recommended for individuals with extreme Essential Tremor that drastically alters their quality of life.

MR-Guided Focused Ultrasound

Another alternative treatment option is the use of Focused Ultrasound. This treatment option can also provide relief from the symptoms of hand tremors without the need for an implant or incision.

Living with Essential Tremor

The shaking caused by Essential Tremor can be entirely involuntary and not cause any direct harm to the body; it can impact one’s self-confidence and the meaning of life. Essential Tremor can also cause individuals to avoid social gatherings and cause them to have negative feelings because of their involuntary shaking.

There are numerous alternative treatment options that can be used to help calm the patient’s tremors. Therapeutic treatments, such as occupational therapy or counselling. Therapeutic treatment options integrated with family support can also allow the patient to lead a normal and more easily manageable lifestyle.

Conclusion

A common neurological disorder characterized by involuntary hand shaking, primarily shaking while doing hand movements, of which the particular cause is unknown, remains a mystery. There appears to be a correlation with communication error in the brain as well as genetics.

Though this neurological disorder, like many others, can be frustrating because of its effect on day-to-day life, there are contemporary treatment methods that assist in the management of the disorder. For instance, medications, Deep Brain Stimulation, and Focused Ultrasound are treatment methods that assist in the management of the disorder.

If one is unable to control their hand shaking while completing mundane tasks, routine checking with a medical professional is a prudent avenue to reveal the issue that is causing the relatively involuntary action and locate optimized treatment to thus enhance and maintain the quality of life.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. Is Essential Tremor the same as Parkinson’s disease?
No. Although both are neurological disorders, Parkinson’s tends to cause tremors when the body is at rest in comparison to Essential Tremors, which primarily occur in motion.

2. Can Essential Tremor be cured completely?
Currently, there are treatment methods designed to assist in alleviating the symptoms caused by the disorder, though there is yet to be a treatment that is designed to completely heal a patient of the disorder.

3. Does Essential Tremor worsen with age?
It is not uncommon for patients suffering from Essential Tremor to experience a slow progression of the disorder over the course of many years. Stress and fatigue may also be corresponding triggers for heightened symptoms.