Muscle tremors. How to cope?

[Pierre]

You should definitely spend the time and money on determining the source of the shake.

I thought it was carpal tunnel, and it ended up being three cervical disks collapsing! THAT was an eye opener...

Arthritis had to be involved, so the upside is that I can tell the weather. Not really good for my shooting scores, but not having to have the surgery is better in the long run in my case.

So - find out what is causing the shakes! Lack of muscle tone could easily be the problem if you are not keeping your physical strength up. You would fatigue your muscles much faster and notice it sooner...

Lots of good advice in this topic. Pick out the parts that seem relevant to your condition, and start there. Get a firm diagnosis if you can - I had to REALLY push to get the MD to refer me out to a NeuroSurgeon. So you may have to push your Doc as well if nothing seems to help.

With any luck, 20 pushups will cure your shakes in no time!

Good Luck with this...

 

[springmom]

BullfrogKen, I've had to take prednisone quite often in the past for pulmonary and other problems to to call it crap is definitely an understatement!! That stuff has some very nasty side effects on ones body!!

I used to have to take high doses of prednisone for quite some time, and it had definite, um, effects on my personality. My husband called it "PMS"...Prednisone Manic Syndrome. I'm glad not to have to do that any more. Three cheers for Plaquenil instead.

RE: the tremors... one thing I don't think was mentioned, and that is hand strength. Get one of those rubber balls that people use for hand therapy and squeeze it regularly; or one of the grip weight gizmos. You want to train your hand muscles the same way you would train your larger muscle groups, because over time you'll lose strength in them as you would your legs or arms without exercise.

And definitely forego caffeine (and sugar, too) before shooting!

Good luck.

Springmom

 

[The_Antibubba]

Pax, that needs to be a sticky! Excellent!

I also have medication-induced trembling, as well a some RMS forearm and finger numbness. Some things to try:

A different shooting stance. Maybe an Isoceles or a Weaver will give you better stability. If the meds are giving you tremors, chances are your whole balance is off, and you haven't noticed. Gwine, here is where the Tai-chi will be useful.

Something that seems to be helping me? I recently started juggling again. It's a good upper body exercise, that involves tight focus and breathing control. Skip the Juggling kits you see at stores, and get lacrosse balls instead-they have perfect weight and texture.

And your co-workers are far less alarmed when you juggle on your break than if you draw and aim.

 

[Kurt S.]

I have something called "famial tremor". My grandad had it, and so does my dad. It was light in my grandad, my dad has it the worst and I'm about in the middle. http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/000763.htm

I can take beta blockers for it, but I don't have high blood pressure and the stuff has some other side effects I don't like.

I use front sight control, breath control, and trigger control to help me shoot through it. I can shoot well enough to get 90% on the Texas CHL shooting proficiency test. I am never going to be an IDPA champ; Jerry Miculek doesn't have anything to worry about from me.

 

[shooting on a shoestring]

Thanks to all.

I do appreciate all the responses. This forum has some good folks.

 

[PotatoJudge]

I think Kurt S. is referring to Propranolol (Inderal) for the tremors (it's a beta1 and 2 antagonist). I've heard that it's been unethically used by competetive shooters, but only found one mention of it in a THR search. Don't take the advice of some guy on the net for drugs though, "ask your doctor if Inderal is right for you."

Edit: a revised search turned up more on shooting and inderal, including the drug primidone, which is not a B-blocker.

 

[borrowedtime69]

tremor fixes

i think there are weighted gloves you can get that will help you hold more steady while shooting. i know that police have Sap gloves that are maybe filled with lead powder or something sewn into pads on the gloves.

would a long, wide ACE bandage help if wrapped around the wrist to help lock it in place, then wear the weighted glove?

if you are bench rest shooting, could you make an arm weight by taking a 2 x 4 and hollow out a large area in the top of it. pour in a layer of fiberglass resin on the bottom, fill it nearly to the top with lead shot, then pour more fiberglass resin to cover that. after it dries take some soft cloth and staple it almost all the way around the board. with one end still open, fill it loosely with polyester fiber fill that you make pillows out of to rest your arm on comfortably. then attach two sets of web staps or similar comfortable "restraint" strap material. when you go to shoot at the bench, just put on the glove, the ACE bandage, and strap your arm onto the arm brace. that sound like too much? just an idea i thought i would send up the flagpole. Best of luck! -Eric