Essential tremor
Up to 1 in 25 people experience essential tremor which is a shaking that comes you’re trying to use your hands, says Gordon Baltuch, MD, PhD, a professor of neurosurgery at the University of Pennsylvania and associate director of the Parkinson’s Disease Research, Education and Clinical Center.
If your hands are shaking when you’re trying to write or type something or when you’re doing your daily activities such as reaching for a glass, that’s indicative of this form of tremor, Baltuch adds. Also, you should know that essential tremor usually starts in one hand – the dominant one.
Parkinson’s disease
“When the arm is hanging at the side, or there is no muscle tone in the arm, that’s when this kind of tremor is most prominent,” Michael Rezak, MD, PhD, director of the Movement Disorders and Neurodegenerative Diseases Center at Northwestern Medicine explains.
Also, while essential tremor seems more like shaking, the type of tremor linked with Parkinson’s often has a kind of rhythmic quality to it, he adds. There is no cure for Parkinson’s, but medications and physical activity can help.
