Positional Tremor and its Treatment
Related Experiment Video
Updated: Feb 20, 2026

MRI-guided Focused Ultrasound Thalamotomy for Patients with Medically-refractory Essential Tremor
Published on: December 13, 2017
Sara M Schaefer1, Mark Hallett2, Barbara P Karp2
1Department of Neurology, Yale School of Medicine, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA.
Background:
Positional tremors arise when a patient's tremor is brought on during specific positioning of the involved body part. They can be distinguished from postural tremor, wherein a patient's tremor is elicited in any posture, and from task-specific tremor, wherein a patient's tremor occurs only during a certain task.
Cases:
We describe two cases of positional tremor that are markedly improved with botulinum toxin injection.
Discussion:
The term "positional" is a valuable descriptor for tremors. In patients with positional tremor, botulinum toxin may be beneficial for treatment. Lidocaine injection provides a transient way to test for the appropriateness of botulinum toxin injection in these patients.
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