Myoclonus Myoclonic Muscle Jerks Causes Involuntary, Sudden, Quick, Shock-Like Jerking

Myoclonus is a sudden, shock-like jerking of a muscle or muscle group. In simplest terms, myclonic muscle jerk is a quick twitch followed by relaxation. These involuntary jerks are a symptom and not a disease.

Myoclonic jerks are usually caused by some type of central nervous system (brain and spinal cord) disturbance. Yet on rare occasions, myoclonus may be induced by peripheral nerve injury.

Myoclonic sudden jerks may occur alone or sequentially.  These sudden thrusts can affect your whole body or just cause a quick jolt in a part, such as the legs. And this quick jerking can’t be controlled.

Although not fully understood, some theorize myoclonus causation is due to either an imbalance of neurotransmitters or an abnormality of their receptors.

Severe types of myoclonus can be caused by, triggered by or associated with a nervous system malady or some other underlying health condition, such as:

There are a couple forms of myoclonic jerks that occur in healthy folks as well, including:

  • hypnic jerks ~ sleep starts occur when drifting off to sleep
  • hiccups ~ form of myoclonus resulting from the rhythmic contraction of diaphragm
  • benign sleep myoclonus ~ usually occur immediately after birth during early infancy

However, your sudden, involuntary muscle jerks may be a symptom of a sleep disorder that may require treatment, such as restless legs syndrome.

At this time, there’s no specific treatment for myoclonus caused muscle jerks. Some of the drugs that are commonly prescribed to help reduce your shock-like jerking symptom include:

The drug of choice is clonazepam, a tranquilizer.

If the cause for your quick jerking myoclonus is provoked by a reversible health condition, then your myoclonic sudden jerk vexation may cease with its treatment.

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