The Link Between Tremors and MS

Up to six percent of the population suffers from tremors that start out earlier in life but become worse over time. By the time treatment is sought, the person may have experienced embarrassment, worry and a decrease in quality of life. Many people do not realize there is help with available.

What is a tremor?

A tremor is a repetitive involuntary muscle movement. Think about when you were younger and someone asked to stand on one foot. After a period of time, your leg may have begun to shake uncontrollably because the muscle became tired. In this case, you know what causes the tremor and stopping what you are doing allows it to stop. You don’t have the same control over tremors.

Tremors are divided into different categories, depending upon factors such as cause, when they occur (while resting or in action), what body parts are involved, etc. For a more in-depth explanation of tremors in general, check here. Often, tremors are a symptom of an underlying neurological disorder.

Neurological Conditions Causing Tremors

Tremors can be caused by medications, withdrawal from alcohol or drugs or as a result of stress. The most common cause of tremors, however, is as a symptom of an underlying neurological disorder.

Neurological disorders cause various areas of the brain to malfunction. The symptoms that a person experiences depend on what part of the brain has been affected. If the section that controls muscle movement has been damaged, that is what causes tremors to occur. There are several conditions that can cause this. The most common are:

Stroke – Strokes strike different areas of the brain, but when the area involving muscle control is involved, tremors occur.

Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) – When a person’s head has undergone some trauma, such as in an auto accident, areas of the brain can become permanently damaged, including that part controlling muscle movement.

Huntington’s Disease – This is an inherited disorder where brain cells die slowly over time. Normally, tremors don’t occur until a person is over sixty.

Parkinson’s Disease (PD) – With PD, the brain areas controlling motion are the most affected. This disorder is progressive and the tremors normally affect more than one area of the body,

Multiple Sclerosis (MS) – MS can exhibit such a variety of symptoms that it is difficult to diagnose. One of the symptoms is a tremor.

Getting Treatment

In any case of tremors, it is essential to find the underlying cause. Treatment is completely dependent on the cause of the tremors. It may be possible to treat the individual symptom, but that isn’t preventing the symptom from returning in the future when the case is something like MS.

Complete Neurological Care has a history of treating both tremors and MS. They will do a thorough evaluation to determine what is causing your tremors and will treat both the symptom and the cause. If you have been experiencing tremors, schedule a consultation with Complete Neurological Care today. After a medical history is taken, you will be evaluated for MS and other neurological disorders – and treatment can be started to help you live a fuller life.