Restless Leg Syndrome, or what’s also known as Wittmaack-Ekbom syndrome, is a condition that causes odd or unpleasant sensations in your legs. This usually happens when you’re lying in bed and you’ll suddenly feel the need to move your legs and the sensations tend not to stop until you do get up and move around.
Restless Leg Syndrome affects mostly middle aged people or adults who are in their more senior years and even though it’s called RLS it can also affect your upper body – in your arms and your torso.
There’s a fair amount of current medical evidence that point to it being a neurological condition with a genetic background – so you could inherit this from one of your parents or grandparents. You’ll also find that this condition happens most often in patients with peripheral neuropathy, those who suffer from chronic kidney disease, patients with Parkinson’s disease, pregnant women, people with iron deficiencies or as a side effect of certain medications.
The other problem associated with RLS is insomnia. The constant desire to move your legs every hour or so can severely interrupt your sleep pattern which then leads to tiredness, stress, anxiety and even depression the next day. RLS usually strikes at night but it can also occur when a sufferer has been sitting in one position for a long period of time. The sufferer will have no choice but to get up and walk around or at least move their legs frequently to get rid of the weird sensations they’re feeling in their legs. This makes attending a class, traveling long distance on a bus, train or plane or attending a lengthy meeting almost impossible for a person with RLS and can really affect the quality of their life as a result.
What does RLS feel like?
Patients describe a lot of sensations when it comes to this condition but most often they’ll say it feels like an aching, burning, tingling or crawling sensation on their legs. Each attack of RLS can last several hours in some cases although for most people about 60 minutes is the norm.
There are no specific tests that can be performed to properly diagnose RLS so it’s down to the abilities of an astute doctor or specialist to diagnose this annoying medical condition based on their own experience of it. Having a full set of bloods done is a good idea though because an iron deficiency can cause RLS in some people so it’s best to rule that out as a possible cause.
So what are the remedies for restless leg syndrome?
First on the list are the various types of medication you can take to help with RLS and these include dopamine based medications like Ropinirole, or Pergolide which are used to treat Parkinson’s disease. Dopamine agents aren’t without their side effects and were only approved for use in recent years so use them with caution and only under strict medical guidance. Opioids can be used to treat stubborn cases of RLS but you need to be aware that taking any opioid can lead to addiction and/or withdrawal problems when you stop taking them.
Last but not least in terms of prescription treatments are the benzodiazepines like diazepam which is basically a long lasting sleeping tablet which should help keep you asleep long enough so you don’t notice an attack of RLS starting.
Are there any more natural remedies for restless leg syndrome?
One major change you can make in treating RLS is in your lifestyle. If you smoke or drink alcohol on a regular basis you need to cut these out completely. They’re bad for your health period and smoking in particular can cause severe circulation problems in your legs.
If you’ve put on a few pounds over the last few years then now is the time to shed it. Research has shown that people who are overweight can tend to suffer from RLS more frequently than people who aren’t obese. Again, being overweight is bad for your health so it’s something you should take care of.
As part of your weight loss program, taking a walk every single day will help with both your weight, your mood, and also with your RLS. You don’t need to walk for miles each day just start off with a gentle 10 minute walk and build it up from there. Daily, gentle exercise can really help with this condition.
Another popular way of treating this medical condition is with gentle stretching of the legs each day – just a few minutes on each leg. If you want to take this a step further then you could try taking up a gentle form of yoga to really help you get as flexible as possible. A leg massage will also help you cut down on the number of RLS attacks you have to endure.
And last but not least is taking a warm bath each day to gently soothe the muscles in your legs. This might seem like an overly simple solution to a painful problem but it can and does work for RLS.
You might need to use a combination of these remedies for restless leg syndrome to deal with it 100%, but then it’s worth it to get rid of the problem right?