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Essential tremor
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Essential tremor is the most common neurological cause of two kinds of tremor: postural tremor, which appears when holding a position, and action tremor, which appears when moving toward something. A tremor is a rhythmic, involuntary movement of a body part, at a fairly steady frequency.
What produces that movement is alternating contractions of antagonist muscles, that is, pairs of muscles that pull in opposite directions: one pulls, then the other, over and over. Why that happens remains largely unexplained: the cause of essential tremor has not been worked out.
Where it shows up is well described. It usually starts in the hands, and it does so in both at once and to a similar degree. It is a tremor that shows up while holding something and while reaching, like when the hand moves toward a glass. Over time the head can join in, and the voice as well.
In brief
Essential tremor is the most common neurological cause of postural or action tremor, a rhythmic, involuntary movement of a body part.
It is a tremor that shows up while holding something and while reaching, like when the hand moves toward a glass.
It results from alternating contractions of antagonist muscles, and its cause remains largely unexplained.
It usually starts in the hands, bilaterally and symmetrically, and over time it can spread to the head and the voice.
Sources (1)
- National Center for Biotechnology Information, StatPearls PublishingEssential Tremor, StatPearlsPublished
This page explains the topic in general terms; it does not tell anyone what treatment to follow.
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