Fasciculations—the fluttering of small parts of a muscle, or what used to be called live flesh—are almost always benign. Virtually everyone has had the experience: small contractions around the eyes or the mouth, in the calf or the forearm. It happens when people are tired or they’ve had too much coffee or alcohol. Tending as they do to come in clusters over several days, these muscle flutters can reflect a patient’s self-involvement or their fear of illness.
