Overview Of The Causes And Complications Of Essential Tremor

Exercise

Evidence indicates that excessive exercise can worsen a patient's essential tremor symptoms. In most cases, this appears to happen because patients after left quite fatigued after exercise, and their body does not have the energy it needs to control the tremors better. High intensity interval training is a type of exercise that is particularly exhausting. Thus, it makes worsened essential tremor symptoms more common. Despite the risk of worsened symptoms after intense exercise, not all forms of exercise are causes of essential tremor. Some patients, for example, benefit from strengthening exercises given to them by a physical therapist.

Issues With Eating

Issues with eating arise when essential tremor becomes severe enough to interfere with the patient's ability to hold and use eating utensils to bring food from the dish to their mouth. This type of difficulty occurs most often in patients who have an essential tremor that mainly affects the muscles in their arms and hands. As it gets harder to control movements enough to use utensils to eat, a patient's diet may change if they do not have anyone with them to help them eat. These diet changes include a general reduction in the frequency of meals and the amount of food being consumed.

Foods that do not require utensils to eat are often not as healthy and nutritious as foods that do require utensils. Additionally, an individual may refuse to eat in social settings if they are embarrassed about essential tremor. They may then have issues maintaining an appropriate caloric intake and deal with weight loss.