Muscle “Shaking”

Question: My left hand and forearm shake at random times. Yesterday, I walked on a rocky area and admit I over did it. I fully understand that the pain I had was a result. What was new was a wobbly hip. I was so unstable, I barely made it back to the car. It was very scary.

I’m used to "spaghetti legs", but I have never experienced hand and arm shaking or wobbly hips. My physician did a brain scan that didn’t show any signs of other causes. Can this be due to PPS? Can my forearm crutches be causing this? What can I do when this happens?

Dr. Bruno’s Response: The forearm crutches are likely causing you to overuse your arm and hand muscles to compensate for muscle weakness in your “wobbly hips”. What you're describing is called a "physiological tremor" and can be seen in anyone who overworks a muscle, for example competitive weight lifters. The poliovirus damage and PPS makes it easier for your muscle fibers to become overworked and cause shaking. What's more, if you are experiencing new weakness in your hips you are likely putting more stress on your arms to walk with the crutches, which is why the shaking is showing up now.

What can you do when your muscles shake? Rest the muscles and, while you're resting, log activities that caused the arm and hand shaking and "wobbly hips" then stop those activities, pace them or do much less of them.