Tick refers to stereotypical movements belonging to the group of hyperkinesis, which are not caused by a person’s own desire, but are spontaneous. Such movements usually last a short period of time and are often repeated. Most often, tics are manifested: twitching of the eyelid, corner of the mouth, or a general repetitive movement of the finger, arm, shoulders and so on. Some tics occur as a result of damage to certain parts of the brain or nervous system. But the most common causes of ticks are psychological problems that remain incurable for the patient.
Classification of nerve tics and their causes
Nerve tics can be divided into two groups – primary and secondary. Primary ticks include: transient tics, chronic tics (motor and / or vocal), Tourette’s syndrome.
Secondary nervous tics occur in some congenital hereditary diseases (Huntington’s chorea, Hallerwarden-Spattz disease, neuroacancitosis, torsion dystonia, etc.), as well as in acquired diseases (Parkinson’s disease, head injuries, encephalitis, meningitis, stroke, etc.).
The exact causes of nerve tics have not been established, however, several factors that play a significant role in the formation of nerve tics, for example, lack of magnesium in the body, anxiety, side effect from taking certain medications, have been identified.
According to characteristic manifestations, nerve tics are divided into:
- Mimic (facial). With mimic nerve tic, the mimic muscles mainly act. Such ticks include a nervous tick of the eye, frequent blinking, involuntary movement of the lips and some other uncontrolled movements of the face.
- Vocal (voice) neural tics are the most complex neural tics, which are manifested by involuntary shouting of words, phrases and sounds by the patient. These can be phrases or even curses that were once heard or born in the patient’s head.
- Motor tics of limbs. They include: twitching arms, legs, stamping, clapping and any other involuntary movements of the arms and legs.
Diagnosis of a nervous tic
A nervous tic is diagnosed by a neurologist. The diagnosis is made only after the patient undergoes a neurological and psychiatric examination. The main goal of diagnosis is to exclude diseases with organic damage to the brain, as well as mental disorders.
Nerve Tick Treatment
If a nervous tic occurs rarely and only after a person has experienced severe stress, then an appointment with a specialist is not required. However, a nervous tic, which manifests itself quite often and has a pronounced character, can cause a person many inconveniences in life, for example, grimacing causes a grin from others and does not allow you to work calmly. In this case, the person needs medical attention.
The treatment of nerve tics largely depends on the causes of their occurrence.
If a nervous tic happened on the background of mental illness, drug therapy with antipsychotics under the supervision of a psychiatrist is appropriate. Physiotherapeutic procedures, such as massage, play a rather important role in the treatment of nerve tics, so you should not neglect them.
Can also be used procedures that block the muscles that are responsible for involuntary movements.
If the tick is caused by an organic disease, then the main therapy is aimed at treating this disease.