Worry not if you see your thumb shaking. Most of the time, it’s just a temporary reaction of your body to things such as anxiety or stress. However, there’s always a possibility that it is due to an underlying medical condition, most especially if it’s accompanied by other unusual signs and symptoms. Below you will come across a few possible reasons why your thumb is shaking.
Don’t forget to share this article afterwards on your various social media sites so that everyone you care about may also know why their thumbs are shaking.
Essential Tremor
A nerve disorder, essential tremor is characterized by the involuntary shaking of various parts of the body, including the thumb. According to scientists, it is something that can run in families, which means that you may end up with essential tremor if you have relatives with it. Having essential tremors is not really a huge problem unless it’s so severe as to cause disability.
Doctors say that essential tremor is more common in older adults although it may also show up at any other age. Stress and the intake of caffeinated drinks can worsen it.
Repetitive Motion Injury
Just like what the name pretty much suggest, repetitive motion injury is brought about by carrying out the same motion again and again. That is why it is very common in individuals who work on assembly lines or spend a considerable time typing on a computer keyboard or playing video games.
Other signs and symptoms include weakness, pain, numbness, tingling sensation and sometimes swelling. Eventually, proper functioning of the thumb may be lost if the same movement is repeated even with the presence of repetitive motion injury.
Carpal Tunnel Syndrome
Aside from repetitive motion injury, another problem that may strike if you perform the same motion incessantly is called carpal tunnel syndrome.
Your carpal tunnel is a narrow passageway in the middle of your wrist through which the median nerve runs. The said nerve is the one that provides sensation in your hands and also controls some of the muscles in them. Repeated motion can cause the tissues lining the carpal tunnel to swell, thus applying unnecessary pressure to the median nerve.
Anxiety
When you are anxious, your body is flooded with adrenaline and enters what’s known as the fight or flight mode. This is the reason why you tend to experience all kinds of strange symptoms when you are anxious, such as profuse sweating, heart palpitations, dizziness and hand tremors.
Needless to say, calming down can help put an end to that fight or flight mode and ultimately the various symptoms of anxiety. If your anxiety is bugging you all the time, pay a psychiatrist or therapist a visit.
Stress or Fatigue
If your everyday life is a busy one, there’s a huge possibility that the shaking of your thumb is simply due to being stressed or fatigued. According to scientists, stress or fatigue can cause various muscles of your body to become tensed, causing you to experience tremors in certain areas.
By the way, stress or fatigue can worsen the signs and symptoms of things that were already mentioned above, such as essential tremor and anxiety.
Caffeine and Certain Medications
Drinking several cups of coffee a day can certainly cause your hands to shake. Such is simply due to the stimulating effects of caffeine which can be found abundantly in coffee. Experts say that every cup of coffee contains approximately 100 milligrams of caffeine. Having more than 4 cups of coffee a day can cause you to overshoot the recommended daily limit of 400 milligrams of caffeine.
There are also certain medications that are known to cause certain parts of your body to shake, and your thumb is included. Some examples of them are those for asthma, depression, seizures and thyroid issues.
