What is Restless Leg Syndrome and what are its symptoms?

Raise your hand, everyone who can’t stop moving their legs!

Are you on a plane and suddenly feel the urge to walk? Don’t know where to put your feet when you’re in a meeting? Perhaps this is much more than a constant and irresistible desire to move.

Restless legs syndrome is a neurological disorder characterized by tingling, aching and burning sensations felt in the legs when lying in bed or trying to fall asleep. This disorder can negatively affect sleep quality and even disrupt a person’s work and social life.

As the Terappin family, we tried to answer many questions for you, such as what is restless leg syndrome, what are its symptoms, what are its causes, how is it diagnosed and how is the treatment of this disorder.

If you’re ready, let’s get started?

What is Restless Leg Syndrome?

This syndrome, also known as Willis-Ekbom disease, is an intense uncomfortable feeling in the legs that we usually experience while lying down.

You may have woken up due to the need to move your legs or walk during sleep. This is exactly why it is defined as both a neurological sensory disorder and a sleep disorder.

It can be said that restless legs syndrome is generally more common in women. It occurs especially in middle and older ages. If a patient says that he experienced this condition at a young age, it is likely to be caused by genetic transmission.

Restless legs syndrome (RLS) often causes fatigue and a constant desire to sleep during the day. Additionally, it makes it difficult to focus and can prevent you from completing even simple daily activities mindfully.

Simple health steps and lifestyle changes can help alleviate the effects. Medication may also be used to alleviate the effects. However, it must be prescribed with the advice of a doctor and used under supervision.

In Whom Is It Most Common?

Restless legs syndrome affects approximately 10% of the population. Of the mentioned 10%, 2-3% have moderate to severe symptoms of this disorder. It can affect all age groups and genders, but it is more likely to occur in women.

Symptoms are more severe in middle-aged people. Sometimes symptoms occur rarely and mildly. Such situations can make diagnosis of the patient’s disease difficult. Therefore, the patient who thinks he has restless legs syndrome should monitor the symptoms of the disease regularly.

What are the symptoms?

The symptoms and severity of a patient experiencing restless legs syndrome may vary. However, the two main symptoms we can observe are as follows:

Uncomfortable Sensation/Tightness in Foot or Arm

Restless legs syndrome (RLS) is a multifactorial movement disorder whose most basic symptom is an abnormal, uncomfortable sensation felt in the legs and feet. It can be felt in both legs, and in some cases, it has been stated that this discomfort is felt in the arms as well.

However, many of those who complain about this condition have difficulty making sense of the symptoms. It is possible for them to describe this symptom of restless legs syndrome as a desire to move the legs.

More than 80% of people with this syndrome suffer from Periodic Limb Movements (PLM), which causes uncontrolled jerking and twitching of the legs at night. These movements are short-lived, can occur while sleeping or resting, and occur approximately every 20 to 40 seconds.

Sleeping disorders

Restless legs syndrome is most common and most severe while sleeping. For this reason, people with this disease feel the need to sleep frequently during the day.

Because they do not get enough sleep at night, they are more vulnerable to many psychological disorders such as depression, anxiety and distraction. Moreover, they may experience communication problems as it will trigger situations such as increased anger and stress.

What are the reasons?

In the majority of cases, there is no obvious cause for restless legs syndrome. However, the following reasons are highly likely to be seen in people suffering from this disease:

Pregnancy

Restless legs syndrome is quite common during pregnancy. There is research showing that folic acid or iron deficiency may cause this condition. In case of restless legs syndrome during pregnancy, it may also increase the likelihood of a longer labor and needing a cesarean section. Symptoms usually appear to disappear within a month after birth.

Chronic Diseases

Certain long-term medical conditions such as iron deficiency, Parkinson’s disease, kidney failure or renal disease, diabetes, and peripheral neuropathy can cause restless legs syndrome.

Genetic Inheritance

Many individuals who suffer from this disorder say that a first-degree relative or several members of their family have the disorder.

It’s not clear whether any of our genes play a role in iron levels or dopamine signaling in our brains. According to current knowledge, genes may only affect a small percentage of the risk of developing restless legs syndrome.

Drugs Used

Some medications, such as anti-nausea medication, antipsychotics, some antidepressants, and cold and allergy medications containing antihistamines, can make symptoms worse.

Life style

Another disorder, such as insomnia or sleep apnea, may trigger or worsen the disease. Strong stimulants such as alcohol, tobacco and caffeine also trigger discomfort.

Risk factors

RLS is a disorder that affects your health and quality of life. If you also have chronic sleep deprivation, you may be at greater risk for:

• heart disease
• diabetes
• paralysis
• kidney disorders
• depression
• premature death

Some factors in restless legs syndrome may put a person in a higher risk category. However, it is unclear which of these factors actually cause RLS. These factors:

• Gender: Women are twice as likely as men to get RLS.
• Age: It tends to be more severe and is more common after middle age.
• Family history: You’re more likely to have RLS if others in your family have it.
• Pregnancy: Some women may develop RLS during pregnancy, but it resolves within a few weeks after birth.
• Chronic diseases: Conditions such as diabetes and kidney failure can lead to restless legs syndrome. Usually treatment of this condition relieves the symptoms.
• Medications: Medications such as antinausea, antipsychotics, antidepressants, and antihistamines may trigger or exacerbate symptoms.

When Should You See a Doctor?

To get rid of the consequences of restless leg syndrome or other similar conditions, it will be beneficial to meet with a specialist and will help you find a solution faster. For example, if iron deficiency anemia is causing you to experience restless legs syndrome, the way to relieve your complaints may be as simple as taking iron supplements.

We told you what you can do when struggling with restless leg syndrome. However, we also point out that you can get help from a professional whenever you feel the need. Additionally, you may want to see a therapist if you experience the following side effects:

• Disorder in sleep patterns that cannot be corrected
• Feelings of anxiety, depression or depression
• lack of concentration

How is it diagnosed?

The cause of restless legs syndrome is not fully known. This shows us that there cannot be a single treatment method that applies to everyone. On the other hand, some criteria that health professionals look for for diagnosis are as follows:

• An urge to move, often associated with an unpleasant or uncomfortable feeling
• The need to move the leg that begins during rest or inactivity
• Movements provide temporary, partial or complete relief
• Beginning in the evening or at night, or worsening of the uncomfortable feeling at those times

According to the Restless Legs Syndrome Foundation, these criteria also apply to children over the age of 12. However, different criteria are prescribed for children under 12 years of age.

Diagnosis becomes difficult because many people attribute the symptoms seen in children to growing pains or heavy physical activity. For this reason, we need to be more sensitive about observing children.

Treatment and Therapy Process

If you have RLS without an associated condition, treatment focuses on lifestyle changes.

If these are not effective, your doctor may recommend medication. There are many recipes developed to reduce restlessness in the legs. These prescriptions:

Drug therapy that increases dopamine in the brain

These drugs affect dopamine levels in the brain. The short-term side effects of these medications are generally mild. However, they can also cause impulse control disorders such as gambling and daytime sleepiness.

Drug therapy that affects calcium channels

Some medications, such as Neurontin, Gralise, Horizant, and Lyrica, work for some people with RLS.

Muscle relaxants and sleeping pills

These medications help you sleep better at night, but they don’t eliminate feeling in your legs and can cause daytime drowsiness.

opioids

Narcotic drugs are mainly used to relieve severe symptoms, but they can be addictive when used in high doses.

How to Fight Restless Legs?

You can minimize the traces of this syndrome and perhaps recover with a few simple but effective changes you can make in your daily life. Here are some tips to help improve your quality of life when dealing with restless leg syndrome:

Be careful to follow a regular sleep cycle

Trying to go to sleep and wake up at the same time every day, taking time to rest before sleep, and avoiding short naps that will disrupt your routine during the day will help you in this regard. Additionally, staying in a cool, dark room may help you sleep better.

Exercise regularly during the day

Exercising close to bedtime may not be a good idea for restless leg syndrome. For this reason, you should do your exercises as far away from sleep time as possible.

It is important that this training, which will last approximately 30-60 minutes, exercises your legs and is performed regularly. Activities such as swimming, yoga, and cycling that you can do a few times a week will relax you.

Get a massage / seek massage therapy

Rubbing your legs and muscles, especially your calves, can help relieve pain and symptoms. Additionally, getting massage therapy support from an expert trained in this field can be good for soft tissues such as tendons, ligaments and muscles. Massage therapy also has benefits such as reducing stress, relaxing the person, and reducing pain and muscle tension.

Take a warm shower

Although its effect has not yet been fully proven, experts recommend taking a cold or warm shower to stimulate the legs. However, it will be useful to put something on your leg that will create a temperature change, such as a heating pad or an ice pack, and observe how it feels to you, in order to understand what is good for you in the future.

Take care of your nutrition

Deficiency of vitamins and minerals such as D3 and potassium, which must be present in a certain amount in our body, is often associated with cramps. If you also complain about this situation, you can try increasing your consumption of spinach and seafood.

For iron deficiency, apart from these two foods, you can benefit from foods such as beans, whole grain bread and red meat.

Being careful about caffeine, tobacco and alcohol consumption in the evening will help you sleep better. If you are a smoker, removing it from your life or at least reducing it is very important for your general health.

Finally, taking note of which activities worsen your symptoms or which ones are good for you will help you cope with restless leg syndrome.