Help with hand tremors

I was recently ‘afloat’ on Ventura and was approached by a gentleman with a question I have never been asked before – and those are ones I really appreciate as it lets me go off and try and find some information. He was suffering from hand tremors, but did not have Parkinson’s Disease and so I asked a doctor friend and then went searching elsewhere, but it proved far harder than usual to find information. That certainly interested me, as it seems this is an area where there don’t seem to be that many remedies available, but I did find some useful advice on Dr Andrew Weil’s site and a couple of others that might prove helpful to anyone suffering from this condition.

Trembling or spasm is the most common of all involuntary movements and is an unintentional and rhythmic muscle movement involving to-and-fro movements (oscillations) of one or more parts of the body. What happens is that the muscle fibres contract, tighten and restrict blood circulation so that the muscle becomes rigid. What causes it can be physical, emotional, or psychological; it may be as a result straining the muscle, sitting or lying awkwardly, or stress and anxiety that affect the nervous system. Whatever the cause, the result is the same: the muscles cannot relax on their own or release with movement.

Of all the information I found, there are three areas to look at:

1 The Medical solution. It is crucial first and most important to check with your doctor if you are taking any form of medication at all and ask whether any of the side effects could be causing the problem. If it is, then ask if there is any other treatment they can give you instead.

2 The Dietary Approach. Caffeine and alcohol can both exacerbate the condition so cut them out and monitor the results. Increase your consumption of ‘calming’ foods such as carbohydrates and soothing teas which contain valerian. Celestial Seasonings produce one called Sleepytime which I recommend to anyone to reduce anxiety and stress. 3 Alternative therapies that can help include cranial osteopathy or acupuncture and both tai chi or meditation will help reduce stress.

Because this condition can be made worse by anxiety and stress, it will be of benefit if you do all you can to reduce this to manageable levels.