5 Conditions That Can Cause Involuntary Body Movements

Involuntary movements, better known as uncontrollable and unintended jerking, tics, or muscle twitches may occur for many reasons. These include nerve damage (which may cause muscle spasms), drug use, tumors, brain injury, stroke, or long-term use of neuroleptic medications. The movements may be minor and infrequent, or dramatic and ongoing. Either way, these uncontrollable movements may be causing you personal anxiety and embarrassment, especially if you don’t know the cause.

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What causes involuntary body movement?

Below are five conditions where uncontrollable body movements are characteristic.

Cerebral Palsy

Cerebral palsy is often the result of a brain injury or malformation. In most cases, patients with the condition are born with it. However, it can happen later in life, which is known as acquired cerebral palsy, due to brain infections or trauma to the head from a motor vehicle accident, a fall or child abuse.

Also called “CP,” the illness can impact:

• Muscle control
• Coordination
• Muscle tone
• Reflexes
• Posture and balance
• Fine and gross motor skills

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Tardive Dyskinesia

Tardive dyskinesia, or TD, is a neurological syndrome caused by the long-term use of neuroleptic drugs. These medications are typically prescribed by doctors to treat psychiatric disorders such as bipolar disorder, depression, anxiety or schizophrenia.

Symptoms include repetitive facial movements such as:

• Grimacing
• Rapid blinking of the eyes
• Protruding tongue
• Smacking of the lips
• Puckering of the lips
• Pursing of the lips

According to the site TalkingAboutTD.com, the following may also be risk factors in addition to taking antipsychotic medications.

• Having a mood disorder, such as depression or bipolar disorder
• Having a parent or sibling with a mood disorder, in people who have schizophrenia
• Having other movements caused by certain medications
• A history of alcohol or drug abuse
• Being 50 years of age or older or, for women, being postmenopausal

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The National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) reports that symptoms may continue long after the medication has been stopped and may continue indefinitely.

Huntington’s Disease

Huntington’s Disease is a fatal genetic disorder that causes the progressive breakdown of nerve cells in the brain, the Huntington’s Disease Society of America reports. Today, there are approximately 30,000 symptomatic Americans and more than 200,000 at-risk of inheriting the condition.

Symptoms include:

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• Choking
• Severe chorea (involuntary movements)
• Inability to speak

Multiple Sclerosis (MS)

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is an unpredictable, disabling disease of the central nervous system, interrupting the flow of information within the brain as well as between the brain and body. Although the cause is unknown and specific symptoms aren’t concrete, patients often experience:

• Tremors of the hands or limbs
• Muscular cramping, difficulty walking, inability to rapidly change motions, involuntary movements, muscle paralysis, muscle rigidity, muscle weakness, problems with coordination, stiff muscles, clumsiness, muscle spasms, or overactive reflexes
• Slurred speech or impaired voice

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Parkinson’s Disease

Parkinson’s disease happens when a person’s brain slowly stops producing a neurotransmitter called dopamine. As levels of dopamine decrease, patients become unable to regulate their movements, body and emotions. According to the Parkinson’s Foundation, Parkinson’s is the second most common neurodegenerative disease after Alzheimer’s. About one million people are living with Parkinson’s in the United States.

Signs and symptoms of Parkinson’s include:

• Tremors of the hands, arms, legs, jaw and face
• Speech problems, such as softness of voice or slurred speech caused by lack of muscle control
• Impaired fine motor dexterity and motor coordination

It’s important to note that some individuals initially only experience symptoms on one side of the body for many years, prior to developing symptoms on the remaining side of their body.

If you are experiencing unusual involuntary body movements, please see your healthcare provider for proper testing and diagnosis.