Essential Tremor – Common Questions Answered July 25, 2022 – Posted in: Uncategorized

Essential tremors can be hereditary, but that is not always the case. The hereditary form is known as familial tremor and is thought to come from an altered gene. If you have a parent with this altered gene you have a 50% chance of developing it. Estimates vary on what percentage of cases are the hereditary form.

At one point ET was considered benign. With the significant impact on daily quality of life and association with a variety of psychosocial issues, the benign designation was dropped. The tremors can cause difficulty with normal daily activities like writing, eating, walking, and even talking. This can make social situations for sufferers difficult or embarrassing. Avoiding stressful circumstances is a lifestyle recommendation for managing ET.

Essential tremor symptoms vary from person to person and from situation to situation. There are lifestyle, diet, and supplement changes that can be made to help lessen instances. We have a heavily researched 30-page PDF book called “Tremor Free Diet” with many specific examples of what to consume and what to avoid. It is free with your purchase of Tremadone.

Essential tremors are typically progressive and worsen over time, but on average it is a slower progression. Age is a factor in its escalation as documented in this long-term study “Severity Stages in Essential Tremor: A Long-Term Retrospective Study Using the Glass Scale”.

According to the International Essential Tremor Foundation (IETF), some consider it a disability and some don’t. In regards to getting disability benefits in the United States, it depends on the impact it has on one’s ability to work. There is a huge amount of content on the basics and the process of applying at the Social Security Administration website on both the Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) programs.

It is one of the most common neurological disorders in the adult population. The University of Michigan health says it is the most common movement disorder affecting about 5% of people worldwide. The publication ‘How Many People in the USA Have Essential Tremor? Deriving a Population Estimate Based on Epidemiological Data’ from 2014 and currently cited by 39 other articles estimated the number of ET cases ranged from 6.38 to 7.63 million in the United States.

This is a similar question to ‘Are essential tremors hereditary?’, which we discuss above. In short, yes they can be, but not always.

Physical pain is not a commonly mentioned symptom of ET. A movement disorder that has tremors as a potential symptom is Dystonia. This neurological condition can be characterized by involuntary muscle contractions. The contractions can move the body into abnormal movements and postures that might be painful.

ET and Parkinson’s are often confused with each other because of similar symptoms. The IETF site has a nice PDF document available with a table of differences. Some of the main distinctions are:
1. ET tremors mostly occur while actively moving. Parkinson’s tremors are mostly seen at rest.
2. In ET, tremors are the primary symptom. Parkinson’s usually involves bradykinesia (slow movements), rigidity, stiffness, and problems with walking or balance.
3. ET more commonly has a family history, 50% or more of the time. Parkinson’s has less than 10% of family history of the disease.