Why Are My Hands Shaking? Common Causes and Treatments for Tremors

If your hands shake when you write or tremble when you raise a spoon to your mouth, it’s easy to jump to the conclusion that you have Parkinson’s disease, a serious neurological disorder that commonly (but not always) begins with small tremors. But trembling hands have many other causes, many of them temporary, minor or treatable.

The human body is never entirely still: Our beating hearts and breathing lungs contribute to a constant vibration that’s so slight it’s usually invisible to the naked eye. Caffeine, alcohol, certain medications and other substances can increase this natural tremor to the point where we feel shaky or even tremble visibly. Lack of sleep and strong emotions can also boost this physiologic tremor temporarily.

In those cases, simple lifestyle changes – fewer espressos, reducing alcohol and getting more sleep, for example – could be the only cure you need. In other cases, tremors can be the first physical sign of essential tremor or Parkinson’s.

What Is a Tremor? Understanding Involuntary Shaking

A tremor is an involuntary shaking movement of any body part caused when the brain’s signals result in alternating contractions of opposing muscles. A tremor can occur anywhere in the body but is most common in the hands, arms, head or voice. It may occur intermittently or remain constant. It can arise on its own or result from another disorder.

Tremor is the most common movement disorder. It affects men and women equally, and is common in middle-aged and older adults (although it can occur at any age).

Because it originates in the brain, tremor is considered a neurological condition. Although tremor itself is not life-threatening, depending on the type, it can signal serious neurological conditions, so any persistent tremor deserves diagnosis by a movement disorder specialist, a neurologist specifically trained for this purpose.

Action vs. Resting Tremors: How Doctors Diagnose the Cause

Tremors can be divided into two big classes that help doctors diagnose the cause:

Action tremors are those that occur when your muscles are working. There are two main types:

• If your hands shake when you move them – bringing a forkful of food to your mouth or writing a letter, for example — you have a kind of action tremor called kinetic tremor.
• If your hands shake when you hold them in a certain position — pointing or handing someone a book, for example — yours is a postural tremor.

Resting tremors occur when the body part is at rest – for example, your hands shake while idle in your lap. Resting tremors usually begin on one side of the body, most commonly in the hands and fingers, and they are progressive – moving to other body parts over time.

Common Causes of Hand Tremors: From Lifestyle to Genetics

Action tremors can occur from common causes including:

• Intense emotions, such as when you feel threatened or vulnerable
• Low blood sugar, if you haven’t eaten in a while
• Sleep deprivation, especially when combined with stimulants like caffeine, which can make you feel jittery
• Abuse of alcohol and other substances, which can damage the area of the brain that manages balance and fine-motor movement
• Side effects of certain medications
• Thyroid disorders resulting in a flood of hormones

Tremors from any of these causes will disappear when the source is removed – by reducing caffeine consumption, eating or taking a nap, for example. But such tremors can also be signs of more serious conditions, including essential tremor, a neurological condition that is usually inherited; and Parkinson’s, a progressive brain disorder that kills or damages brain cells that produce dopamine, essential for controlling movement.

Essential tremor is often confused with Parkinson’s disease, although it’s eight times more common, affecting an estimated 7 million to 10 million Americans and millions more worldwide.

The condition appears to be genetic – children of an essential tremor patient have a 50% chance of inheriting the gene responsible for the condition. Although it is not life-threatening, it progresses with age and can make normal activities challenging.

Diagnosing and Treating Tremors: Medications and Advanced Therapies

Before you visit a doctor, keep a record of your tremor, including when it occurs, in what body part and what you were doing at the time. Does it get worse with stress or strong emotions? Had you consumed caffeine recently? Do you drink alcohol frequently? Also bring a list of any medications you take.

Your first office visit will begin with a complete physical examination, which often is sufficient for a diagnosis. If not, additional imaging and skin tests may be ordered to identify telltale deposits in the brain.

While essential tremor and Parkinson’s have no cures, symptom-reducing treatments are available, beginning with medication. In severe cases, your doctor may recommend one of these highly effective procedures:

• Deep brain stimulation, a surgical treatment in which a device that sends electrical pulses to specific brain areas is implanted to manage uncontrollable movements
• Focused ultrasound, a non-surgical treatment using ultrasound waves to destroy tiny, targeted areas of the brain responsible for motor symptoms.

Whatever diagnosis you receive, there is hope. With medications and therapies now available, tremor patients — even those with Parkinson’s — can expect to enjoy active lives for many years with near-normal life expectancy.

This content is not AI generated.