Myoclonus refers to a sudden muscle jerk or spasm. These spasms or jerks are involuntary, meaning that they can neither be controlled nor stopped. They may occur in a single muscle or many different muscles. The jerks may be seen in a pattern or at random. Myoclonus is more a sign or symptom of an underlying cause than a disease itself. Myoclonus is generally seen in everyone at some point. It is usually harmless and does not require any medical intervention. Most times, it is even forgotten. However, in some people myoclonus may cause severe symptoms to the extent of disturbing routine activities.(1)
Home Remedies For Myoclonus
Before starting on home remedies for myoclonus let us have a look at what affects, worsens or increases the symptoms of myoclonus.
Myoclonus leads to a lot of anxiety in many people. The problem with people with anxiety is that the symptoms cause even more anxiety in them thus not helping them in curing either their anxiety or their medical condition. This kind of becomes a vicious cycle. Those who do not suffer from the problem of anxiety, myoclonus is usually forgotten by them. Those who do, have a great deal hard situation to deal with. Myoclonus becomes a cause of concern in them.(2)
The foremost goal is to deal with or manage the anxiety. Anxiety is seen to cause a significant increase in symptoms of myoclonus. Though a doctor is the best person to evaluate your condition, you can still take measures to control or manage anxiety.(2)
Anxiety is known to set off adrenaline in the body. This may be likely the reason why the muscles behave so abruptly or unusually by way of jerks and spasms. Adrenaline may also likely affect the hormones and neurotransmitters, the components that are responsible for communicating with nerves.(2)
That said, myoclonus is seen in almost everyone at some point, anxiety or no anxiety. People experience twitching muscles at different times and positions. The phenomenon is not at all same in two people. Hence, it may not even be related to anxiety and the truth is that the exact cause might not even be known most times.(2)
Considering this, some of these home remedial measures may help in avoiding a set-off of myoclonus signs and symptoms-
One important thing to be avoided is searching on the web for conditions matching your symptoms. This is true especially if you are prone to anxiety. The anxiety will make you compare your symptoms with what-not information available on the web, only worsening your anxiety and so your condition. Though internet is often a boon, it may be a curse in terms such as these.(2)
Sometimes the solution for myoclonus symptoms improvement may be as simple as doing some exercise. It is true that exercise may further increase the twitching, but it is also found that it may help in reducing muscle twitching in the long run. Of course, the kind of exercises that you should do must always be talked about with your doctor first.(2)
Massage may be a valuable therapy in treatment of myoclonus, according to some. The spasms or jerks may exert an undue work stress on your muscles. A good, gentle massage is a great way of relieving your muscles of that work stress. The massage may also help in reducing the frequency and intensity of muscle jerks.(2)
Conclusion
Muscle spasms or jerks are involuntary. They can neither be controlled nor stopped. That said, they are usually not at all a reason to worry about. However, since they are uncontrollable, they might cause some serious inconvenience to you in your routine work and may need medical intervention if they are causing a severe disability. Treating the underlying cause is of prime importance in order to get relief from the symptoms.
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