Tremor is an unintentional, somewhat rhythmic, muscle
movement involving to-and-fro movements (oscillations)
of one or more parts of the body. It is the most common
of all involuntary movements and can affect the hands,
arms, head, face, vocal cords, trunk, and legs. Most
tremors occur in the hands. In some people, tremor
is a symptom of another neurological disorder. The
most common form of tremor, however, occurs in otherwise
healthy people. Although tremor is not life-threatening,
it can be embarrassing to some people and make it
harder to perform daily tasks.
Tremor is generally caused by problems in parts of
the brain that control muscles throughout the body
or in particular areas, such as the hands. Neurological
disorders or conditions that can produce tremor include
multiple sclerosis, stroke, traumatic brain injury,
and neurodegenerative diseases that damage or destroy
parts of the brainstem or the cerebellum. Other causes
include the use of some drugs (such as amphetamines,
corticosteroids, and drugs used for certain psychiatric
disorders), alcohol abuse or withdrawal, mercury poisoning,
overactive thyroid, or liver failure. Some forms of
tremor are inherited and run in families, while others
have no known cause.
Some forms of tremor are better managed with medical
or surgical therapies than others.
Neurological Surgery,
P.C. of Long Island, New York and New York
City (Queens) is one of the largest private
practices for neurological surgery in the
NYC and NY/NJ/CT Tri-State area, offering
patients the most advanced treatments of
brain and spine disorders, using minimally
invasive procedures like Gamma Knife, Cyber
Knife, Microdiscectomy, Spinal Stimulators, Kyphoplasty, X-Stop,
Carotid Stenting, Aneurysm Coiling and Interventional
Pain Management.
