DCN Primary and Specialty Care-min

Essential Tremor

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Essential Tremor is a disorder of the nervous system resulting in involuntary and rhythmic shaking of the hands. Other parts of the body can also be affected including the head, torso, and voice. Commonly confused as Parkinson’s disease, essential tremor is 8x more common, affecting approximately 10 million Americans. Achieving an accurate diagnosis is essential to determining the best treatment.

What Causes Essential Tremor

The direct cause of essential tremor is not known; however, this condition appears to more commonly be passed down from a parent to a child. A child is 50% more likely to inherit the gene response from their parent who has ET. While it can occur at any age, it is more likely to appear in adolescents or those between the ages of 40 and 50.

Symptoms of Essential Tremor

This condition is not life-threatening; however, it makes it difficult to perform everyday activities such as

  • Eating
  • Writing
  • Dressing

Typically, tremors become worse during intentional movement or times of emotional stress. In rare cases, they can cause balance problems. When tremors become severe, they can lead to disability.

Treatment for Essential Tremor

When symptoms are mild, treatment might not be necessary. In the event that essential tremor disrupts daily life and makes it increasingly difficult to perform daily activities, there are treatment options that can be explored with the help of your doctor.

  • Lifestyle Changes – Avoiding activities that make tremors worse. These can include stressful situations.
  • Physical or Occupational Therapy – Exercises to improve muscle strength, control, and coordination.
  • Medication – Various medications will be explored depending on the individual including beta blockers, anti-seizure medications, tranquilizers, and Botox injections.
  • Surgery – Extremely severe tremors that do not respond to medication can be treated with deep brain stimulation or focused ultrasound thalamotomy.

Schedule Your Appointment

Contact us to schedule an appointment with a member of the Desert Care Network staff. We make it our mission to understand your symptoms, develop an accurate diagnosis, and provide comprehensive treatment.