Restless Legs Syndrome is a common nerve condition which is characterised by annoying sensations in the lower limbs with the compelling have to slowly move the legs, typically experienced when trying to rest. This odd experience, usually in the calf muscles, is explained as a kind of muscle cramp, ache or a creeping, moving sensation. Some compare the feeling to being like shooting darts of electrical power, or even a sensation of insects within the legs. The feelings range in intensity from not comfortable to aggravating to agonizing.
The most distinctive feature of the problem is that lying down and trying to relax causes the symptoms. As a result, most of the people with restless legs syndrome have difficulties falling asleep as well as remaining asleep. If left untreated, the situation can lead to lethargy and also daytime stress and fatigue.
People who have restless legs syndrome experience unpleasant feelings in their legs, especially when sitting or laying down, combined with the irresistible desire to move about. These types of sensations usually come about deep within the leg, typically between knee joint and ankle; and less frequently, they happen in your feet, upper thighs, arms, and even the hands. Although the sensations can happen on only one side of the body, they can usually have an impact on the two sides. Simply because moving the legs alleviates the unpleasant feeling, people with restless legs syndrome commonly keep their lower limbs moving in order to reduce or prevent the sensations. They might pace around, continuously move their legs whilst seated, and move when in bed.
Most sufferers find the feelings of restless legs syndrome to generally be significantly less noticeable in the daytime and more obvious in the evening or at night, mainly in the course of the oncoming of sleep. For some people, the symptoms disappear by early morning, allowing for more refreshing sleep at that time. Other triggering situations are periods of inactivity such as long car trips, sitting in a movie theatre, long-distance flights, immobilisation in a cast, or relaxation exercises.
Why it's happening is not known but individuals with a family background of restless legs syndrome make-up somewhere around half of the cases, and sufferers with lower iron levels or anaemia, chronic diseases such as kidney failure, diabetes, Parkinson’s disease, and peripheral neuropathy, plus some women who are pregnant in their final trimester and people using particular prescription drugs are most often more likely to get restless legs syndrome.
Restless legs syndrome could affect anyone of any age, even though the problem is much more prevalent with increasing age. This happens in both genders, even though the frequency may be somewhat increased in women. Sometimes people will encounter a natural reduction on symptoms during a period of weeks. Although very rare, natural improvement following a number of years could also happen. If these kinds of changes take place, it is usually during the early phases of the disorder. Generally, however, symptoms get more serious as time passes.
Typically the clinical diagnosis of restless legs syndrome might be hard to make. Medical professionals typically rely generally on patients’ explanations of symptoms and information using their medical history, which includes previous health concerns, family history, and current drugs. Individuals may be asked about regularity, length, and also the intensity of the sensations as well as their propensity for daytime sleep activities and sleepiness, interference of sleep, or any day time functionality. In case a persons background is an indication of restless legs symptoms, laboratory studies can be performed to rule out other concerns and support the initial impression of restless legs syndrome. Blood tests, studies to determine electrical activity in muscle tissue and the nerves, and other testing to evaluate muscle signals in the lower limbs may well be proposed. Such medical tests could find any kind of accompanying injury or disease in the nerves and nerve roots or another leg-related motion conditions.