Tremor

05/01/2010

Parkinsonian tremor is a rhythmic and regular movement of the arms, legs, chin or mouth. It is sometimes called a rest tremor due to the fact that tremor is more obvious when a person’s arm or leg is resting rather than with activity. This is opposite to essential tremor which is an action tremor noted more with activity such as drinking, writing and other activities. The tremor is sometimes referred to as a ‘pill rolling’ tremor to describe the characteristic rolling motion of the thumb and index finger.

Some people describe an internal tremor. It is often felt over the trunk or abdomen, is not ‘seen’ on the outside yet noticed as a ‘tremor, shaking or vibration’ by the person. This internal tremor is often associated with anxiety. Fortunately there are medical treatments that can help.

Tremor is characteristically worse with stress of any time. Increase tremor can cause more stress leading to yet more tremor- a snow ball effect. It is important to take steps both to reduce stress or your response to stress. Changing your attitude toward tremor is also helpful. In other words how you feel about your tremor can in itself affect its severity. If you worry about it, stress about it- it can increase. Your tremor may be more tolerable (physically or psychologically) if you notice your tremor, identify it for what it is and simply toss any negative ideas about it aside. Stress reduction and relaxation techniques can help improve tremor for many and are therefore a great place to start to reduce the effects of stress on your tremor.

Click here to learn about other Parkinson's movement problems

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