19 Unmistakable Red Flags Your Body Might Be Battling Essential Tremor

7. Worsen With Movement

An essential tremor patient may experience symptoms that worsen when they make certain movements. An individual with essential tremor tends to experience more pronounced tremors when they are attempting to use fine motor skills to accomplish normal daily activities, including eating, writing, applying makeup, shaving, brushing teeth, drinking, and typing. This manifestation of essential tremor can greatly impair an individual's ability to accomplish such essential tasks. It is thought that essential tremor is the result of incorrect communications between an affected individual's cerebellum and other parts of their brain. The cerebellum is the part of the brain responsible for the proper coordination of muscle contraction and relaxation. Because essential tremor is thought to be caused by the abnormalities related to muscle movement and coordination, an affected individual is likely to experience worsening symptoms when they are making purposeful and voluntary movements of their muscles.

8. Comparison To Parkinson's Disease

Several key differences can be used to distinguish essential tremor from Parkinson's disease. The tremor seen in Parkinson's disease patients mostly occurs when they are at rest, where the tremor seen in essential tremor occurs mostly during movement. Individuals affected by essential tremor are more likely to have a family history of the condition, whereas Parkinson's disease patients rarely have a family history of tremor. An individual who has Parkinson's disease is more likely to have a tremor that begins unilaterally (on one side of the body), and an essential tremor patient experiences symptoms bilaterally or on both sides of their body. A Parkinson's disease patient tends to experience no effects when they consume alcohol, whereas an individual with essential tremor experiences an improvement in symptoms with the consumption of alcohol. Someone affected by Parkinson's disease will experience other symptoms like slowed movements, problems with balance, unsteady gait, and rigidity, and an individual with essential tremor does not experience these manifestations.