What does shaking uncontrollably mean

Medicines can also help control or limit tremors in some people. Severe tremors can sometimes be treated with surgery. Essential tremor ET is a neurological disorder that causes your hands, head, trunk, voice or legs to shake rhythmically. It is often confused with Parkinson's disease.

Essential tremor is the most common trembling disorder. Everyone has at least a small degree of tremor, but the movements usually cannot be seen or felt because the tremor is so small. When tremors are noticeable, the condition is classified as essential tremor. Essential tremor is most common among people older than 65, but it can affect people at any age. Some experts have proposed considering ET that starts earlier in life as essential tremor and ET that begins later in life as age-related tremor, because the conditions may have different symptoms and may respond differently to treatments.

The cause of essential tremor is unknown. However, one theory suggests that your cerebellum and other parts of your brain are not communicating correctly. The cerebellum controls muscle coordination.

In most people, the condition seems to be passed down from a parent to a child. Sometimes, ancillary testing such as brain imaging or genetic testing may help with the diagnosis. If you have essential tremor, you will have shaking and trembling at different times and in different situations, but some characteristics are common to all.

Here is what you might typically experience:. The appearance of your tremor, in the setting of a comprehensive neurological examination by an experienced clinician, can result in diagnosis of essential tremor.

Your doctor will probably need to rule out other conditions that could cause shaking or trembling. For example, tremors could be symptoms of diseases such as hyperthyroidism.

Your health care provider might test you for those as well. In some cases, the tremors might be related to other factors. To find out for certain, your health care provider may have you try to:. Propanolol blocks the stimulating action of neurotransmitters to calm your trembling.

It is usually avoided in patients with asthma, emphysema, congestive heart failure or heart block, and should be used with caution by people with diabetes who are on insulin. These drugs may reduce exercise tolerance, lower blood pressure or heart rate, exacerbate depression and cause impotence. Folic acid taken before conception, and during at least the first four weeks of pregnancy, can prevent around seven out of 10 cases of neural tube defects.

Cerebral palsy affects people in different ways some people experience minor motor skill problems, while others may be totally physically dependent. Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease is the most common inherited disorder affecting the peripheral nervous system. To the casual observer, a person with Friedreich ataxia may seem to be drunk. Content on this website is provided for information purposes only.

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Essential tremor. Actions for this page Listen Print. Summary Read the full fact sheet. Speak to your GP before you stop taking any prescribed medicine. Your doctor will want to make sure the tremor is not caused by another condition.

They may also be able to offer treatment. A mild tremor that is not caused by another condition does not usually need any treatment. Your GP may want to monitor you to make sure it does not get any worse. Your GP may refer you to a specialist for further tests if your tremor could be a symptom of a condition such as Parkinson's disease or multiple sclerosis. If you have a tremor that's affecting your life, your GP may prescribe medicine. Medicine will not cure the tremor, but it often helps to reduce the shaking or trembling.