Why do my muscles twitch?

Have you asked your doctor this question?

You pissed off Alessandro Volta?

In most cases, this is a benign condition related to muscle fasciculations. Almost everyone experiences them sometimes. Rarely, it is due to an underlying disorder.

Muscle twitching is a fundamental aspect of your nervous system. According to “Beyond Biofeedback” by Elmer Green, there is a measurable pulse that has been identified as single neuron firing. This means that basically your nervous system is maintaining constant contact with your muscles. This is normal.

The problem, according to Green, is when the brain “loses touch” with the muscles in question. This could be a response to stress (such as constantly tensing a muscle group to respond to poor posture). This can lead to spasms, illness, and is suspected in cases of cerebral palsy. He even cites work where patients were able to partially recover from cerebral palsy by doing awareness training with the effected muscle groups.

That said, your case is somewhere in the middle. But I believe you can gain ground by doing the following:

1) Make sure your diet is sufficiently nutritious, including trace minerals, sodium, and potassium.

2) Make sure you are exercising on a regular basis. Regular exercise strengthens and tones muscles which is likely to keep them from atrophying and/or spasming at unwanted times.

3) Take time each day for relaxation. Relaxation is important to return striate (involuntary) muscles to a normal state after periods of stress. Tension in striate muscles over long periods of time may lead to twitching, pain, and disability.

4) Make sure you are breathing. Failure to breathe can cause all kinds of problems. It seems obvious, but a lot of people would be surprised how often they hold their breath or breathe more shallowly than they should. Breathing patterns are learned, so they can be changed through conscious effort.

5) Practice progressive relaxation. This is a technique where you lay down and relax your whole body one part at a time. You do this through deep breathing and concentrating on each part in succession. You tense the specific muscle groups in question, hold the tension, and then release. You mentally instruct the muscles to relax as you exhale and release the tension. The tension generates awareness of the muscles. The relaxation “resets” them.

I’m no doctor, but if you pay attention to all of these things I would bet you have fewer complaints. If you see no improvement, it’s probably best to see a doctor.

Good luck.

Anxiety makes muscles twitch and is probably the number one cause. It is benign.

Chronic stress makes muscles twitch, because your body thinks it may have to escape from danger any second now. It is benign also.

Genetics can make muscles twitch. It is benign also.

Magnesium deficiency can make muscles twitch. Review what you eat to make sure you are not eating too much junk food, and that you are eating leafy and green vegetables like broccoli, celery, bok choy, kale, chard, nuts and seeds such as almonds, brazil nuts, and sunflower seeds, fresh fish such as tuna and salmon, and wholegrain cereals like brown rice and wholegrain breads. These are all good sources of magnesium.

Too much caffeine makes muscles twitch. How much caffeine do you take in every day?

Certain drugs can make muscles twitch, especially diuretics, corticosteroids and estrogens.

Also pregnancy can cause muscle twitches.

Finally, there are a few serious diseases that can cause muscle twitching. Typically these are also accompanied with weakness or wasting away of the muscles.

For more information, read this, and if it really bothers you or other symptoms arise, see your doctor.

Try taking a good multi vitamin. Sometimes this can be caused by low levels of certain things such as magnesium. If the problem persists or gets worse, it wouldn’t hurt to mention it to your family doctor.

Excess potassium.

@timothykinney @Darwin – You both make good points, as I sit here drinking an amp and eating peanut m&ms on a study break. I have been lacking on the exercise and been a little excessive on the stress, but being a college kid I’m almost gauranteed that there will definitely imbalances in my life. Taking that into mind I get the twitches even on summer vacation while I’m eating better and getting exercise. I don’t see it as a major problem that I need medical attention for but it’s just the fact of it being so annoying and pretty distracting.

I was just wondering this the other day, as I sat there waiting for my eyebrow to stop twitching. Great question!

Are you drinking enough water?

the worst is when your eye twitches! damn it’s annoying lol….

@IchtheosaurusRex – I try, I drink a lot more now than I used to
I know how you feel @ABoyNamedBoobs03, it’s weird cause you can feel it and see it but no one else can see it

Hi all…I am facing the same situation…dunno what to do…its really irritating m unable to concentrate…!!!!