Involuntary body muscle twitches (fasciculations) of the head, feet, legs, arms, hands or fingers.

What is Muscle Twitching?

Muscle twitches are slight, involuntary movements involving small areas of muscle or muscle fibers. Muscle twitches may often go unnoticed, but when you do feel them, they tend to feel worse and more noticeable than they actually are. Muscle twitches, also known as fasciculations, can occur in the arms, feet, fingers, hands, head, legs, stomach and other parts of the body. Twitches can also occur in the eye muscles.

Muscle twitches are usually harmless and are more of an irritation than a cause for concern. In most cases they disappear shortly after they appear or when the underlying cause is addressed. In some rare cases muscle twitching can be a sign of a neurological disorder.

Muscle Twitching in Children

When your child is suffering from muscle twitching, it can be a very uncomfortable and nerve-wrecking for you as a parent. Knowing the exact cause of muscle twitching can be extremely beneficial for making sure your child gets the right treatment. Although it isn’t common for a child’s muscles to twitch involuntarily, it does happen. Children can also suffer from benign and diet-deficient twitches just like adults.

What Causes Muscle Twitching?

Causes of muscle twitching include:

• Stress or anxiety, which may be addressed by a product such as the Tic Calm Combo Pack
  
• Hypothyroidism
• Dehydration
• Bug bites or stings
• Lack of certain vitamins and minerals, often a magnesium deficiency
• Lack of sleep and fatigue
• Mononucleosis (Mono)
• Benign twitches (twitches without known cause often affecting eyelids, calf and thumbs)
• Excessive caffeine
• Genetics
• Side-effects of certain drugs or medication (such as diuretics, corticosteroids, or estrogens)
• Withdrawals from certain medications (particularly benzodiazepines)
• Benign fasciculation syndrome
• Weak muscles (myopathy)
• Damage to the nerve that leads to a muscle

More serious potential causes of muscle twitching requiring a physician's diagnosis include:

• Epilepsy
• Spinal muscular atrophy
• Tourette's Syndrome
• Parkinson's Disease
• Multiple Sclerosis
• Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS or Lou Gehrig’s disease)
• Muscular Dystrophy

How to Manage Muscle Twitching

Because there are many causes of muscle twitches and each person is different, there are multiple ways to manage muscle twitching.  What calms one persons’ muscle twitches may not work for another person.  Many people find their solution to managing muscle twitching through trial and error.

• Cut down on your caffeine by drinking less tea and coffee. Opt for fruit juice and plenty of water instead.
• Make exercise an essential part of your daily routine, 30 minutes of moderate exercise can go a long way in reducing stress and encouraging healthy sleep.
• Make sure you are eating enough magnesium. Magnesium rich foods include green vegetables such as spinach and broccoli, as well as beans, peas, nuts, and seeds.
• Ensure that you are getting enough good quality sleep and try to stick to a good sleep routine.
• Products such as Tic Tamer™ may provide temporary relief from symptoms of involuntary tics.
• Products such as the Tic Calm Combo Pack may provide temporary relief from symptoms of involuntary tics as well as nervous tension that may be contributing to tics.