Tremors are involuntary muscular quivering or rhythmic movements of the extremities or head. In traditional Chinese Medicine, all such movement is due to the stirring of internal Wind. There are three main ways the internal Wind can be generated – Blood deficiency, yin deficiency and Heat.
Aetiology
Liver and Kidney Yin Deficiency
Liver and Kidney yin are damaged through aging, excessive sexual activity, overwork (especially while under stress), insufficient sleep and febrile diseases. Another common cause of yin depletion, especially in younger people, is abuse of recreational drugs. Liver yin deficiency can also be an extension of Liver Blood deficiency, or follow any Liver Heat pattern, especially Liver fire. Prolonged Liver qi stagnation can also damage Liver yin by generating stagnant Heat. In tremor patterns, there are often mixtures of Phlegm Heat and yin deficiency.
Yin and Blood deficiency generated Wind in a similar way. Yin and Blood are the anchor that secures yang and provide a counterweight to its active and rising nature. When these stabilising elements reach a critical point of deficiency, yang (or qi) loses its mooring and becomes excessively mobile. This mobile and uncontrolled yang is Wind. Blood deficiency is relatively less server than yin deficiency, and the resulting Wind tends to be milder and the tremors finer.
Yin deficiency can give rise to two degrees of Wind, the first milder and associated with the rhythmic tremors and spasms of diseases like Parkinson’s disease pr hyperthyroidism. The second, more severe, occurs when Liver yang suddenly (and disastrously) slips its mooring and becomes Wind, rushing towards the head to cause Wind stroke.
Phlegm Heat
Phlegm Heat can be generated in several ways. Excessive consumption of rich spicy foods and alcohol can directly generate Phlegm Heat. Any pre-exisiting Heat in the body (from Liver qi stagnation with stagnant Heat or Fire, yin deficiency or external invasion, etc), can thicken and congeal fluids into phlegm, and subsequently Phlegm Heat. A weakness of Spleen qi or innappropriate consumption of cold natured foods can allow accumulation of Dampness and Phlegm, which can eventually become hot.
Phlegm Heat, at a certain point of intensity, can generate sufficient movement to be redefined as Wind. The variety of Wind associated with Phlegm Heat type tremor is not severe enough to cause the convulsive Wind of extreme Heat or Fire. In this case the yin nature of the Phlegm restrains and modifies the intensity of the Heat’s expression, and milder form of Wind occurs. The Heat smoulders at just the right intensity to promote ongoing Wind, but is not severe enough to cause convulsions.
Qi and Blood Deficiency
Overwork, excessive worry or mental activity, irregular dietary habits, excessive consumption of cold, raw foods or prolonged illness can weaken Spleen qi. As the Spleen (and Lungs) are the source of the qi and Blood of the body, weakness in these organs will inevitably lead to a decrease in production of qi and Blood. Other causes are acute or chronic hemorrhage, prolonged breast feeding and malnutrition (seen, for example in vegetarians who eat insufficient protein). Qi and Blood are so closely related that deficiency of one usually leads to deficiency of the other.
As noted previously, Blood deficiency can give rise to a mild form of Wind by failing to anchor yang qi securely. Qi (yang) deficiency may also contribute to the development of a type of Wind, one generated by the movement of qi to fill the vacuum formed by chronic deficiency. In the case of predominant qi deficiency, the Wind is more likely to manifest as chronic childhood convulsion.
Treatment
After a diagnosis from a qualified practitioner has been given, acupuncture is the treatment of choice and herbal medicines are recommended to support correcting any systemic imbalances that may be present.