The Best Treatment For A Twitching Eye
Have you ever wondered what makes the muscles around your eyes
twitch and flutter from time to time? The answer to this
question is relatively simple. And so is the remedy.
All of the six hundred plus muscles that exist throughout your
body and head are supplied by nerves that originate in your
brain. If you take it from the top, your brain induces a signal
that travels down through your brain stem and spinal cord and
out through peripheral nerves to reach each of your muscles. The
flow of electricity through this pathway is what allows you to
have motor control over your muscles.
Your brain and spinal cord are much like the water tower in your
city. Both are full of energy and just itching to gush
electricity and water out through peripheral nerves and city
water pipes, respectively. In the case of your municipal water
supply, you are able to regulate how much water comes out of the
pipes in your home with your faucets. In the case of your body,
your peripheral nerves are your faucets and must regulate how
much electron flow is allowed to come out of your spinal cord
and travel to your muscles.
Getting back to what causes a twitching eye, the twitching
muscle in question is called your orbicularis oculi muscle. This
muscle has two parts: a palpebral part that allows you to open
and close your eyelids, and an orbital part that allows you to
have a wide range of expressive looks with your eyes, a good
example being when your eyes open really wide with surprise.
The peripheral nerve that acts as a faucet for your orbicularis
oculi muscle is called the temporal branch of your facial nerve.
So, for you to open and close your eyelids or open your eyes as
wide as possible, the temporal branch of your facial nerve must
allow just enough electricity to come out from your brain and
brain stem and travel to your orbicularis oculi muscle.
In the vast majority of cases of a twitching or fluttering eye,
the problem is with the temporal branch of the facial nerve.
When this nerve becomes fatigued, it acts like a worn down water
faucet - the flow of electrons is no longer smooth and even. The
result is that your orbicularis oculi muscle will twitch or
flutter as it receives jolts of uncontrolled information from
your brain and brain stem.
In case you missed it, I just gave you the answer to the most
common cause of a twitching eye: fatigue. And fatigue goes hand
in hand with stress.
When the muscles that surround your eyes twitch and flutter,
chances are very good that you are fatigued and stressed. So the
remedy for a twitching eye is rest and relaxation.
Not muscle relaxants, not pain killers, not chiropractic
adjustments.
Rest and relaxation. Period.
Aside: in clinical terms, your brain, brain stem, and
spinal cord are referred to as upper motor neurons. Your
peripheral nerves - the temporal branch of your facial nerve in
this example - are referred to as lower motor neurons. Twitching
eye muscles are referred to as fasciculations and are a common
sign of lower motor neuron problems, which usually get better on
their own with proper rest and a healthy diet.