Causes of tremors of hands and other parts of the body, tactics
Tremor is the arbitrary shaking of body parts, which can be caused by many different reasons. Chin tremor in newborns causes the same clinical alertness as limb tremors in the elderly.
This phenomenon is manifested by rapid rhythmic movements of some part of the body caused by muscle contraction. Such a reduction is caused by a failure in the transmission of impulses along the nerve endings.
Physiological tremor should be distinguished from pathological.
The physiological type of tremor can be provoked by temporary conditions and does not indicate an organic pathology on the part of any organs or systems. Most often, such a tremor occurs against the background of:
- emotional tension is one of the frequent causes of hand tremors;
- anxiety - if it does not last long and does not require specialized assistance;
- fatigue - for example, after too intensive training in the gym;
- hypothermia.
Pathological tremor is caused by diseases and pathological conditions.
Causes of tremors
Tremor can affect any moving parts of the body:
- fingers (tremor of fingers when excited is the most common type of this pathology);
- hands;
- legs;
- trunk;
- head;
- chin;
- lips.
Before asking how to get rid of tremors in the legs, arms or other parts of the body, you should find out the cause. Depending on this factor, tremor is distinguished:
- primary or essential - appears for no apparent reason;
- secondary – occurs against the background of some diseases;
- psychogenic;
- medical.
The most common causes of secondary tremor:
- thyrotoxicosis;
- hyperparathyroidism;
- liver failure;
- kidney failure;
- a neoplasm of the brain (can provoke a strong tremor of the lips);
- craniocerebral injury;
- stroke;
- different types of poisoning;
- side effect of medicines;
- alcohol abstinence.
Separately distinguish the tremor that arose against the background of degenerative pathologies of the central nervous system and has an accidental or idiopathic (without defined cause) character. These are the following diseases:
- cerebellar degeneration is one of the most frequent causes of body tremors in adults;
- Parkinson's disease;
- idiopathic muscular dystonia
Types and signs
Despite the fact that the pathological tremor of different parts of the body always seems to be the same, different types of tremor are distinguished:
- essential (occurring for no apparent reason);
- parkinsonian;
- cerebellar;
- rubral;
- dystonic;
- neuropathic.
With essential tremor, the upper limbs most often tremble (sometimes only one). At the same time, the causes of hand tremors are unknown. The following may also be involved in the process:
- head;
- trunk;
- lips;
- vocal flags.
Parkinsonian tremor is a resting tremor that occurs in the absence of activity and disappears with any activity. At the same time, patients tremble:
- most often – hands;
- less often – legs, chin, lips;
- even more rarely – the head.
Cerebellar tremor occurs when the patient tries to maintain a certain posture (for example, standing with arms extended forward). It mainly involves:
- trunk;
- proximal parts of the limbs (those that are closer to the trunk);
- sometimes - the head.
Rubral tremor is also called mesencephalic or Holmes tremor. Most often, it occurs when the midbrain is affected (rarely - the thalamus). Rubral body tremor in adults occurs under the following circumstances:
- when trying to keep the body and limbs in a given position;
- when moving;
- in peace.
Dystonic tremor is observed in patients with impaired tone, which appears in the form of muscle spasms. Mainly affects hands and feet.
Neuropathic tremor consists in trembling of the body and limbs when holding a certain position and when moving. It occurs with polyneuropathies - damage to various areas of the peripheral nervous system (simply speaking, nerve roots).
For more detailed answers to the question of what is the mechanism of the occurrence of various types of this pathology (for example, why tremors of the limbs occur), what it is and what the consequences can be, search on our website Dobrobut.com.
Causes and symptoms of tremors in babies
Signs of tremor can be seen in almost all children immediately after birth. Most often it is:
- twitching of arms and legs;
- trembling of the chin;
- twitching of the lips.
Basically, tremor symptoms in babies appear under the following circumstances:
- if the fetus had hypoxia;
- in circumstances related to stress - when excited, during crying, when pain occurs;
- in premature babies (due to the immaturity of the nervous system).
Usually, by the age of 3 months, the tremor goes away on its own. At a later age, you should consult a doctor.
Tactics of actions in case of tremor
Often, patients ask what are the effective methods of treating tremors of the head, hands or legs. But it is impossible to treat tremor - it is necessary to influence its cause (in particular, the disease that accompanies it).
Tremor can have various origins. Therefore, if the patient has this pathology, he should consult a therapist, who, after conducting an examination, will give recommendations to which doctor should be consulted next - a neurologist, an endocrinologist, an infectious disease specialist or other narrow specialists.
Often, to find out the cause of tremor, the patient must undergo a large number of examinations of various organs and systems. Also, in a number of clinical cases, a patient with tremor is treated by several doctors of related specialties (for example, in case of diabetic neuropathy, treatment will be prescribed jointly by an endocrinologist and a neurologist).
Recommendations on how to treat essential tremor in a child should be given by a highly qualified neonatologist.
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