Have you ever come across a sense of random muscle twitching in your fingers? Sometimes it would be the left thumb twitching uncontrollably. No matter how much you try to stop it, it won’t. After a brief moment, it gets annoying. Some even feel that this might be the initial stage of Parkinson’s disease, which starts with a finger twitching and ends up with a whole shaky hand. Is that so?
Know the exact reasons that can lead to such a state, whether it is related to Parkinson’s disease, and how you can reduce muscle twitching.
1. Reasons for Why Your Finger may be Twitching
Finger twitching normally looks or feels like your finger shaking on its own. This is an involuntary contraction by the muscle that is difficult to control. There are certain reasons that cause, such as too much use of fingers for scrolling phones, playing games for a long duration, over-consumption of caffeine, lack of proper sleep, and many more. Let’s discuss what causes these finger twitching in detail.
1.1. Muscle Strain
When you use your phone for too long to perform activities like texting or scrolling videos, the muscles in your fingers begin to strain. Also, if you hold your phone for too long, you may even start to feel your hand turning numb. This is a common sign of Carpal Tunnel Syndrome.
1.1.1. Carpal Tunnel Syndrome
This tends to happen when the median nerve, located in your wrist is subjected to repetitive movements or any kind of pressure. As a result, it shows symptoms of numbness, and tingling muscle contractions around that area. This can also happen when you are playing games for a prolonged period or just typing on the computer.
1.2. Caffeine
We ought to have caffeine at times when we feel lazy or tired. So we consume it, in the form of coffee and energy drinks. As it is a stimulant that increases the activity in our brain and nervous system. However too much caffeine intake can also cause muscle spasms and headaches.
These twitches are not specifically confined to happening in your fingers only, rather they can happen anywhere in the skin and sweat glands of your body. But if you suddenly stop taking the required amount of caffeine you have daily, then can also have similar withdrawal symptoms.
That is because, after a couple of weeks of regular caffeine intake, your body becomes used to such stimuli. So gradually you need to reduce your caffeine intake.
1.3. Lack of Sleep
When you don’t get enough sleep, you are not able to perform your daily tasks efficiently and effectively. You feel dizzy and sleepy the whole day. Above all that, it also becomes a cause for your annoying finger twitching.
As your muscles won’t get the time to recover and repair themselves, they might feel stiffness, and develop muscle weakness, and soreness the very next day. Lack of sleep in a person can directly affect their brain’s neurotransmitters, which later overstimulate the nerves. This then signals the muscle fibers to twitch.
1.4. Alcohol
Even the consumption of alcohol can be a cause for random, muscle spasms and finger twitching. It acts as a Central Nervous System (CNS) depressant that is normally used to control symptoms of anxiety, insomnia, and panic attacks. This slows down the brain and all other activities connected to it, like muscle coordination, body movements, and heart rate.
You tend to feel more happy and relaxed after consuming it. But when its effects wear off, it causes more anxiety and worsens muscle twitches. Constant consumption of it can also make you dependent on it when you try to stop it. You would face withdrawal effects that are similar to Caffeine which can be physically and mentally uncomfortable.
1.5. Dehydration
Every human needs to drink at least a minimum of 2 liters of water a day, that is 8-9 glasses daily. It is recommended because water is essential to coordinate body movements and is an integral part of blood. If we don’t drink an adequate amount of water, then we might suffer from electrolyte imbalance. That leads to finger twitching.
1.6. Vitamin Deficiencies
Vitamin deficiency is one of the most common causes. There are mainly three Vitamin deficiencies, namely Vitamin D deficiencies, Magnesium deficiencies, and Calcium deficiencies.
1.6.1 Vitamin D Deficiency
It is also known as Hypovitaminosis D. We all know that the sun is the best source of Vitamin D, but do we know what role it plays in our body? It is required by nerve cells, who in turn carry out signals in the form of messages to the brain and muscles. So, if Vitamin D is lacking in our body. Then one should know that the muscles will become weak and then start twitching.
1.6.2. Magnesium Deficiency
It also known as Hypomagnesemia, plays a vital role in producing energy in our body. Other than that, it supports nerve functions and muscle movements, by transferring calcium to the cell membranes. Having magnesium deficiency in our body can be highly risky because, among other symptoms, than causes muscle spasms sometimes. It can also raise the risk of type 2 diabetes and high blood pressure.
1.6.3. Calcium Deficiency
It is also known as Hypocalcemia. We all know that our bones are made of calcium, but did we know that a lack of calcium can lead to muscle twitching? As I mentioned before, Magnesium transfers calcium to cell membranes. Thus lack of it, not only our bones but our muscles too.
All these vitamins can be added to your system, through a change in your diet and lifestyle.
For getting Vitamin D, the most natural way is regular exposure to the sun. Thus we should spend more time outside. Apart from that, we can eat foods like egg yolk, red meat, and oily fish. For Magnesium, we can have nuts (almond and cashew), spinach, and avocado. Lastly, the best source of Calcium is milk, while other sources mainly include all sorts of dairy products.
2. Is It Related to Parkinson’s Disease?
Many think that finger twitching might be an early sign of Parkinson’s disease.
So to understand that, we need to know what actually is Parkinson’s disease. It is a neurological disorder that is caused by a loss of the substantia nigra, which is a nerve cell located in our brain.
As a result, it drops the level of dopamine; also called the ‘happy hormone‘. Although, in its initial stages, it is very subtle to detect. But after a number of research on this disease, doctors have been able to detect certain changes, that can alert of you having Parkinson’s.
According to them, the early signs can be walking with a curved back, your handwriting getting smaller or you start drooling. When the tremor starts to worsen muscle twitching in your fingers, it looks like you are rolling a pill between your fingers and thumb. In its early stages, the person experiencing the tremor is likely to be the only one who notices it.
But if the twitching or involuntary movement continues for a long period. Then the symptoms gradually worsen and the tremor will cause widespread involuntary muscle twitches, thus becoming noticeable to others too.
3. Conclusion
It may be challenging to control these involuntary and repetitive movements. But they don’t need to be associated with tremors.
As it can also be a cause of certain vitamin deficiencies such as Vitamin D deficiencies, Magnesium deficiencies, or Calcium deficiencies. One can recover from such deficiencies, if he decides to change his diet and consume nutritious food. Here we also discussed Parkinson’s disease and how you can identify the subtle signs in its initial stages.
Only if your twitching lasts longer than usual, then you should consult a doctor for appropriate treatment. Always remember that self-diagnosing your health problems through the internet is never a good alternative for professional medical advice.
4. FAQs
4.1 How do I get my finger to stop twitching?
The best way to stop your muscles from twitching is to identify and solve the root problem causing muscle twitching. As there are a lot of causes for such involuntary movements to occur, such as stress, vitamin deficiency, too much caffeine, and dehydration. If it is because of stress, then you need to do some activities that can help you relieve stress, for vitamin deficiency try consuming food filled with fibre and nutrition. As for caffeine you need to lower your caffeine intake, and if it is dehydration, then drink adequate water each day.
4.2 When should I be worried about finger twitching?
Although, finger twitching can be a harmless symptom of muscle strain. But if your finger is twitching for a long period of time along with subtle symptoms like stiffness and muscle weakness, then you need to consult a doctor. Some cases can be treated with rest or vitamin supplements. While some need serious medical intervention to identify its root cause.
Last Updated on December 23, 2023 by soubhik92@gmail.com