3 Strength Exercises For Individuals With Essential Tremor

Description

Essential tremor (ET) is a neurological disorder characterized by involuntary and rhythmic shaking. Typically, tremors occur in upper extremities such as the hands but tremors can exist in other body parts as well (Mayo Clinic, Aug 2017). Individuals suffering from essential tremor experience disturbances and difficulties in completing everyday tasks such as feeding and handling / manipulating small objects such as scissors, keys etc. Essential tremor is more prominent in individuals over 40 years of age and typically worsens over time.
Research conducted by Kavanagh, Wedderburn-Bissop and Keogh (2016) examined the effects of resistance training (RT) on essential tremor. The aim of their research was to determine whether a 6-week resistance training intervention could help remediate symptoms of essential tremor. In order to do this, they recruited individuals with essential tremor and a healthy, age-matched control group. They hypothesized that the resistance training intervention would create positive changes in manual dexterity and reduction of tremor force in individuals with ET. They also predicted that individuals with essential tremor would have greater improvements compared to the healthy control.