If someone has Parkinson’s disease, the most common symptom we may witness is tremors on the hands and feet. The shakiness is an involuntary movement, and about 80% of Parkinson’s patients have this symptom. Even though this is annoying, these tremors are not disabling. However, all tremors are not Parkinson’s. Other conditions also cause tremors like essential tremors or ET and multiple sclerosis, etc.
Parkinson’s tremors – Joon Faii Ong London
Parkinson’s tremors are usually different tremors due to other medical conditions. Let us explore some general characteristics of Parkinson’s tremors as explained by Joon Faii Ong London.
- Resting tremors – Unlike essential tremors, which occur in motion, Parkinson’s tremors tend to start when the muscles are at rest. These tremors tend to lessen while asleep. The shakiness may also go away with movement.
- Rhythmic – The tremors due to Parkinson’s are continuous and slow. These are not jerks or random tics but tend to occur in a rhythmic way.
- Asymmetric – Parkinson’s tremors may start on one side and then slowly spread to the other side of the body.
Body parts affected by Parkinson’s tremor
Hands – Parkinson’s tremors start with and mostly affect hands or fingers. This shakiness is called pill-rolling motion, like rolling a pill back and forth between the thumb and index finger.
Feet – Foot tremorsin Parkinson’s are most likely to occur while lying down or sitting with rested feet. Sometimes, the tremors starting from the feet may move up to the thigh muscles, which may be felt like the whole leg shaking. Foot tremors may disappear while you move. If there is a foot tremor when you stand, it may be some other condition.
Jaw – Jaw tremor is also quite common in Parkinson’s patients. This may look like cold shivers, but it can be bothersome if it causes teeth to chatter. For those who wear dentures, this may cause it to fall out or shift. This tremor may ease with chewing, so using chewing gum may help.
Tongue– Tremor or tongue is a rare case, but sometimes it may occur and cause shaking of the entire head.
Internal tremors – Some Parkinson’s patients report a feeling of shakiness inside their abdomen or chest. This cannot be seen outside by only can be felt internally by the patient.
Will these tremors subside?
In general, with Parkinson’s, the tremors tend to stop getting worse and stay stable at some point. This duration may vary from patient to patient. Sometimes, the tremors may also go away fully after a while.
Physicians prescribe several types of medications to treat Parkinson’s, such as Clozapine, the powerful form of Levopoda, Istradefylline, Safinamide, etc. If there is no help with medication intake, the doctors may suggest a procedure to treat Parkinson’s. The procedure to treat Parkinson’s is called deep-brain stimulation (DBS). In this, a small amount of high-frequency current is passed through the brain, which may help regain neuromotor functions. It is noted that this refined procedure has a high success rate of 90% in terms of getting rid of the tremors. Joon Faii Ong London also insists on lifestyle changes like reducing stress and anxiety. Relaxation techniques, meditation, and yoga can also help.
