Restless legs syndrome is a neurological movement disorder that causes discomfort in the legs, causing a person to want to move them. The exact cause of restless legs syndrome remains unclear to date. There are studies where the cause was associated with hypertension, cardiovascular and spinal diseases, but this cause-and-effect relationship is not certain.
Symptoms of the disease appear 10-20 minutes after relaxation, for example, when sitting down or lying down. A nagging pain occurs in the legs, and negative sensations appear, which include burning, goosebumps, twitching, tingling, and trembling. Often the sensations appear in the feet and lower legs, in rare cases they rise higher and reach the thigh. The sensations spread in waves down the legs and can last from 5 to 30 seconds. This is annoying and prevents you from falling asleep or simply relaxing your legs. Symptoms may temporarily disappear with movement.
At the age of 30-40, restless legs syndrome may manifest itself in a mild form, but if the disease is neglected, then by the age of 50 such a disease can develop into daily severe sleep disturbance and lead to decreased concentration during the day and a deterioration in the quality of life in general. As a result, patients experience additional symptoms such as insomnia, nervousness, irritability, daytime sleepiness and chronic fatigue.
According to statistics, this disease affects 5-15% of the general population aged 30 to 70 years. The disease has varying health effects depending on its severity. In patients suffering from a mild form of the disease, symptoms appear quite rarely, less than once a week. In those suffering from moderate to severe forms of the disease, which is about 30% of patients, symptoms appear more than 15 days a month. Most often, symptoms of the disease appear after 35 years. The incidence of restless legs syndrome increases with age, but about a third of patients first experience symptoms of the disease before reaching the age of 18 years. Women suffer from restless legs syndrome 1.5 times more often than men.
Restless legs syndrome is divided into two types: primary and secondary.
Restless legs syndrome also occurs in those who have suffered and have illnesses:
The disease can also manifest itself with a lack of vitamin B12, folic acid, thiamine, magnesium in the body, which is inherent in the condition of a pregnant woman. So, the disease in this case will develop after 45 years. And it happens that restless legs syndrome develops as a secondary disease in those suffering from Parkinson's disease, Huntington's chorea or Tourette's syndrome.
Diagnosis of a disease is based on observations of clinical signs, physical and laboratory tests to exclude diseases with similar symptoms.
Mandatory criteria for making the correct diagnosis above are:
Laboratory tests for this disease: blood tests for iron levels, nitrogen levels, creatinine, glucose, magnesium, thyroid-stimulating hormone, vitamin B12 and folate.
There is currently no drug to treat restless legs syndrome, but the underlying symptoms can be managed. A feature of the treatment of such a disease should be an individual approach based on the unique symptoms of each patient. Children and adolescents, women during pregnancy, and patients with mild illness should receive advice without drug treatment, namely: advice on restoring sleep patterns, patients should completely avoid caffeine, alcohol and nicotine, as well as any medications that may increase symptoms. Relaxation procedures, baths, massages, hot or cold compresses on the lower extremities before bed are auxiliary tools, along with regular exercise and a healthy lifestyle, which is encouraged during pregnancy. The duration of medication use should be considered in cases of moderate to severe disease.
Sometimes restless legs syndrome is a secondary symptom of another disease. In this case, treatment of the underlying disease may reduce or eliminate the symptoms of restless legs syndrome. Natural medicines, the mechanism of action of which is based on bioregulation, can become a safe and effective therapy in the treatment of restless leg syndrome.
Medication options to reduce symptoms include:
Although these medications do not cure the disease itself, a properly selected treatment regimen in combination with non-drug treatments will help reduce symptoms of the disease, improve sleep and help control the disease in general.
If pregnancy is the cause of the disease, the syndrome usually appears in the third trimester and goes away four weeks after birth. This disease occurs in 10% to 25% of pregnant women. These are unpleasant sensations of pulling, tingling or tension in the feet, legs or knees, sometimes cramps, burning or pain, but most often the desire to constantly move the legs. This makes it difficult to fall asleep and prevents you from relaxing.
To reduce symptoms, treat and get rid of unpleasant sensations, you can recommend stretching, gymnastics and foot massage. A pregnant woman needs to do light exercises regularly. It is better to perform exercises in the afternoon, but no later than four hours before going to bed. Gymnastics and a proper diet for a pregnant woman without tea, coffee and carbonated drinks, especially six hours before bedtime, will ease the pregnant woman’s condition and help her relax. Because restless legs syndrome is sometimes associated with low iron levels in the body, vitamin supplements with iron and folic acid can also help treat it, but a pregnant woman should always consult a doctor before taking these medications.
There are quite a few diseases, one of the symptoms of which may be discomfort in the legs. If you notice that such sensations arise when you are resting and disappear when you move, and intensify in the late afternoon or at night and practically do not appear during the day, and because of this you have problems sleeping, irritability and loss of concentration, then you need to contact a neurologist with suspicion of restless legs syndrome and undergo a course of treatment prescribed by your doctor.
A fairly common occurrence is incomprehensible discomfort in the legs that prevents one from falling asleep or, conversely, wakes a person up. Most explain such sensations to themselves as banal fatigue, without going into details, but this illness has a name - restless legs syndrome. However, first things first...
So, restless legs syndrome, what is it? This is a neurological disease that manifests itself when the patient goes to bed. The main complaint of patients is that, as soon as they go to bed, strange burning and itching appear in their legs, all this causes discomfort and prevents them from falling asleep. This is exactly how this syndrome manifests itself.
The disease was first described in 1672 by Thomas Willis, after whom the Swedish neurologist Ekbom began studying this issue in the 1940s. That is why the disease is found under the guise of Willis disease and Ecomb disease.
The disease is classified as rare and occurs in 10–15% of the world's population. At risk are women, who are approximately 1.5 times more likely than men to suffer from this disease. In addition, the disease is diagnosed in older and middle-aged people.
The causes of the disease are divided into two groups:
The idiopathic nature of the development of restless legs syndrome is the most common. Moreover, this type of disease, compared to the secondary one, begins to develop much earlier. Thus, the patient begins to feel the first signs of the idiopathic form of the syndrome at the age of 30.
There is evidence that indicates a connection between the idiopathic form of the disease and a hereditary factor, however, it is impossible to say that the disease is 100% hereditary, since there is too little evidence.
As for the secondary type of the disease, in this case the disease begins to manifest itself at a later age, approximately 40–45 years. The main reasons for the formation of a secondary type of disease are:
Amyloidosis is a disease associated with disorders of protein metabolism in the body and characterized by deposits of the substance amyloidoid.
Dopamine is a hormone that is responsible for motor activity
Pregnancy should be included in a special group, since it is this condition of the female body that can cause Willis disease. In approximately 20% of cases, a pregnant girl may experience discomfort associated with her legs (usually in the 2nd and 3rd trimester of pregnancy). All symptoms disappear 1–1.5 months after birth.
In addition, taking certain neurological medications and excessive consumption of foods and drinks with excessive caffeine content can serve as an impetus for the development of the disease.
Symptoms of Ecomb syndrome can be divided into two groups:
Sensory symptoms include the direct manifestations of the disease, and psychosomatic symptoms include its consequences.
So, the main sensory symptoms:
All of the above symptoms do not have a pronounced pain effect, however, their intensity causes discomfort and leads to the gradual development of symptoms of a psychosomatic nature.
The psychosomatics of restless legs syndrome manifests itself in the development of a depressive state in a person, against the background of regular lack of sleep. The picture may be aggravated by frequent stress at work or in other places.
Restless legs syndrome manifests itself most clearly in the first half of the night. At the very early stage, immediately after a person goes to bed, after 15–30 minutes he begins to feel attacks of this disease. The time period from 12 am to 4 am is the most dangerous from the point of view of the manifestation of the syndrome. From 4 a.m. to 10 a.m., the likelihood of disease manifestation remains, but its intensity is much lower than in the first half of the night.
The discomfort caused by this disease does not allow a person to fully fall asleep; he is forced to stretch his lower limbs, stretch them, change his sleeping position and even get up to “stretch” his legs.
The peculiarity of the disease is that during exercises that relieve symptoms, the disease recedes, but as soon as the patient stops manipulating the legs, the sensations return.
Willis disease gradually begins to manifest itself not only in a supine position. There is evidence when the patient felt symptoms while walking.
The localization of unpleasant sensations is as follows:
The most common location is the lower leg, less commonly the foot. There was evidence of the occurrence of symptoms of the syndrome on the hips, and even the torso and arms.
Despite the age restrictions described above, there is some evidence that this disease can also develop in children. In this situation, the symptoms of the disease in a child are no different from those in adults.
There are no visible reasons for the formation of the syndrome; the basis of diagnostic measures is the collection of data on the patient’s condition as a result of a survey by the doctor. Studying the medical history allows the specialist to draw a conclusion about the presence or absence of this disease.
In addition, since the secondary type of disease is associated with the presence of any disorders or abnormalities in the body, the patient’s complaints of discomfort in the lower extremities are an indicator for diagnosing the body to detect such abnormalities. Such events include:
Electroneuromyography is a study aimed at establishing the state of nerve conductors in the human body.
One of the main tasks of a neurologist is not only to determine the presence of a problem, but also to be able to differentiate the disease from such ailments as anxiety disorder, akathisia, fibromyalgia, arthritis, vascular diseases, etc.
Treatment for restless legs syndrome depends on the nature of the disease.
It is possible to cure and completely get rid of this disease. Typically therapy is as follows:
How to treat the idiopathic form of the disease? As a rule, when there is no clearly defined cause, the basis of treatment is the elimination of symptoms and alleviation of the patient’s condition.
The doctor may give the following advice as recommendations:
In addition, to treat the idiopathic form of the disease, the doctor prescribes a drug - mirapex.
Mirapex is designed specifically for the treatment of restless legs syndrome, and it can also be used for other diseases such as Parkinson's disease.
There is no talk about the use of this medicine during pregnancy, since no studies have been conducted on pregnant women.
What to do if the cause of the illness is some internal or external disorder? First of all, it is necessary to eliminate the cause that causes this syndrome. To do this, you will either need to change your lifestyle, or the doctor will prescribe medications to support the body.
What tablets can be prescribed:
Treatment of this disease is carried out not only with medications, but also with folk remedies. So, for treatment at home, the following recommendations are used:
What else can you do to help your body during exacerbations:
A few tips to replace drug therapy
Regular release of endorphins will improve the patient’s quality of life, relaxation after sexual intercourse will reduce the intensity of unpleasant sensations from Ekobma’s disease or completely eliminate them for a while.
The relaxing effect of massage has long been well known to everyone. It is advisable that this be a relaxing foot massage, since strong intense stress on the legs can play a negative role in the fight against the disease.
Stretching, oddly enough, has a positive effect on the body and calms restless legs, and doing it on a regular basis will help in the fight against the disease.
The prognosis for this disease is quite favorable; with correct and proper treatment and compliance with all recommendations voiced by the doctor, the symptoms completely disappear and no longer bother the person.
It is worth remembering that medications that are used in the treatment of Willis disease can be addictive, so it is necessary to periodically replace them with others.
So, restless legs syndrome is an unpleasant disease that reduces the quality of sleep of a healthy person and causes depression. You should not neglect this disease, but it is better to consult a specialist if its primary symptoms occur. Take care of your sleep and do not allow any illness to disturb it.
Restless legs syndrome is discomfort in the legs that occurs primarily at night, causing the patient to wake up and often leading to chronic insomnia. In most patients it is accompanied by episodes of involuntary motor activity. Restless legs syndrome is diagnosed based on the clinical picture, neurological examination, polysomnography data, ENMG and examinations aimed at establishing the causative pathology. Treatment consists of non-drug methods (physiotherapy, sleep ritual, etc.) and pharmacotherapy (benzodiazepines, dopaminergic and sedatives).
Restless legs syndrome (RLS) was first described in 1672 by the English physician Thomas Willis. Studied in more detail in the 40s. last century by neurologist Karl Ekbom. In honor of these researchers, restless legs syndrome is called “Ekbom syndrome” and “Willis disease”. The prevalence of this sensorimotor pathology in adults varies from 5% to 10%. It is rare in children, only in the idiopathic form. Elderly people are most susceptible to the disease; among this age group, the prevalence is 15-20%. According to statistical studies, women suffer from Ekbom syndrome 1.5 times more often than males. However, when assessing these data, one should take into account the greater frequency of women visiting doctors. Clinical observations indicate that about 15% of chronic insomnia (insomnia) are caused by RLS. In this regard, restless legs syndrome and its treatment are an urgent task in clinical somnology and neurology.
There are idiopathic (primary) and symptomatic (secondary) restless legs syndrome. The former accounts for more than half of the cases of the disease. It is characterized by an earlier onset of clinical symptoms (in the 2nd-3rd decade of life). There are familial cases of the disease, the frequency of which, according to various sources, is 30-90%. Recent genetic studies of RLS have revealed its association with defects in certain loci of chromosomes 9, 12 and 14. Today, it is generally accepted to understand idiopathic RLS as a multifactorial pathology that is formed under the influence of external factors against the background of a genetic predisposition.
Symptomatic restless legs syndrome manifests itself on average after 45 years of age and is observed in connection with various pathological changes occurring in the body, primarily metabolic disorders, damage to the nerves or blood vessels of the lower extremities. The most common causes of secondary RLS are pregnancy, iron deficiency, and severe renal failure leading to uremia. In pregnant women, Ekbom syndrome occurs in 20% of cases, mainly in the 2nd and 3rd trimesters. As a rule, it goes away a month after birth, but in some cases it can have a persistent course. The incidence of RLS in patients with uremia reaches 50%, and it is observed in approximately 33% of patients on hemodialysis.
Restless legs syndrome occurs with a deficiency of magnesium, folic acid, cyanocobalamin, thiamine; for amyloidosis, diabetes, cryoglobulinemia, porphyria, alcoholism. In addition, RLS can be observed against the background of chronic polyneuropathy, diseases of the spinal cord (discogenic myelopathy, myelitis, tumors, spinal injuries), vascular disorders (chronic venous insufficiency, obliterating atherosclerosis of the lower extremities).
The pathogenesis has not been fully studied. Many authors adhere to the dopaminergic hypothesis, according to which RLS is based on dysfunction of the dopaminergic system. It is supported by the effectiveness of therapy with dopaminergic drugs, the results of some studies using PET, and an increase in symptoms during the period of daily decrease in dopamine concentration in cerebral tissues. However, it is not yet clear what kind of dopamine disorders we are talking about.
The basic clinical symptoms are sensory (sensitive) disorders in the form of dys- and paresthesia and motor disorders in the form of involuntary motor activity. These symptoms affect mainly the lower extremities and are bilateral, although they can be asymmetrical. Sensory disorders appear at rest in a sitting position, and more often - lying down. As a rule, their greatest severity is observed in the period from 0 o'clock to 4 o'clock in the morning, and the least - in the interval from 6 o'clock to 10 o'clock in the morning. Patients are concerned about various sensations in the legs: tingling, numbness, pressure, itching, the illusion of “goosebumps running down the legs” or the feeling that “someone is scratching.” These symptoms are not acutely painful, but are very uncomfortable and painful.
Most often, the initial site of sensory impairment is the legs, less often the feet. As the disease develops, paresthesia covers the thighs and can occur in the arms, perineum, and in some cases on the torso. At the onset of the disease, discomfort in the legs appears after 15-30 minutes. from the moment the patient went to bed. As the syndrome progresses, their onset occurs earlier, even during the daytime. A distinctive feature of sensory disorders in RLS is their disappearance during the period of physical activity. To relieve discomfort, patients are forced to move their legs (bend-unbend, turn, shake), massage them, walk in place, and move around the room. But often, as soon as they lie down again or stop moving their legs, the unpleasant symptoms return again. Over time, each patient develops an individual movement ritual that allows them to most effectively get rid of discomfort.
About 80% of patients with Ekbom syndrome suffer from excessive motor activity, episodes of which bother them at night. Such movements are of a stereotypical, repetitive nature and occur in the feet. They represent the dorsiflexion of the big toe or all the toes, their extension to the sides, flexion and extension of the entire foot. In severe cases, flexion-extension movements in the knee and hip joints may be observed. An episode of involuntary motor activity consists of a series of movements, each of which takes no more than 5 s, the time interval between series is on average 30 s. The duration of the episode varies from several minutes to 2-3 hours. In mild cases, these movement disorders go unnoticed by the patient and are detected during polysomnography. In severe cases, motor episodes lead to night awakenings and may occur several times during the night.
The consequence of sensorimotor disorders that occur at night is insomnia. Due to frequent awakenings at night and difficulty falling asleep, patients have poor sleep and feel groggy after sleep. During the day, they experience decreased performance, the ability to concentrate suffers, and fatigue occurs. As a result of sleep disturbances, irritability, emotional lability, depression, and neurasthenia may occur.
The diagnosis of RLS does not present significant difficulties for a neurologist, but requires a thorough examination of the patient for the presence of the disease that caused it. If the latter exists, corresponding changes may be detected in the neurological status. With the idiopathic nature of RLS, the neurological status is unremarkable. For diagnostic purposes, polysomnography, electroneuromyography, and examination of the levels of iron (ferritin), magnesium, folic acid, and vitamins are performed. B, rheumatoid factor, assessment of kidney function (blood biochemistry, Rehberg test), ultrasound of the vessels of the lower extremities, etc.
Polysomnography makes it possible to record involuntary motor acts. Considering that their severity corresponds to the intensity of the sensitive manifestations of RLS, polysomnography data in dynamics can be used to objectively assess the effectiveness of the therapy. It is necessary to differentiate restless legs syndrome from night cramps, anxiety disorders, akathisia, fibromyalgia, polyneuropathy, vascular disorders, arthritis, etc.
Therapy for secondary RLS is based on treatment of the causative disease. A drop in serum ferritin concentration to less than 45 mcg/ml is an indication for the prescription of iron medications. If other deficiency conditions are identified, they are corrected. Idiopathic restless legs syndrome has no etiopathogenetic treatment; it is treated with drug and non-drug symptomatic therapy. It is necessary to review the medications taken before the diagnosis of RLS. Often they are antipsychotics, antidepressants, calcium antagonists and other medications that enhance symptoms.
As non-drug measures, normalization of the regimen, moderate daytime physical activity, walks before bed, a special ritual of falling asleep, eating without consuming caffeine-containing products, giving up alcohol and smoking, and a warm foot bath before bed are important. In a number of patients, certain types of physiotherapy (magnetic therapy, darsonvalization of the legs, massage) have a good effect.
Restless legs syndrome requires drug treatment for severe symptoms and chronic sleep disturbances. In mild cases, it is sufficient to prescribe sedatives of plant origin (valerian, motherwort). In more severe cases, therapy is carried out with one or more pharmaceuticals from the following groups: anticonvulsants, benzodiazepines (clonazepam, alprazolam), dopaminergic drugs (levodopa, levodopa + benserazide, bromocriptine, pramipexole). While effectively eliminating the symptoms of RLS, dopaminergic pharmaceuticals do not always solve sleep problems. In such situations, they are prescribed in combination with benzodiazepines or sedatives.
Treatment of RLS during pregnancy requires special care. They try to use only non-drug methods of therapy, mild sedatives, and, if indicated, iron or folic acid supplements. If necessary, small doses of levodopa or clonazepam can be prescribed. Antidepressants and antipsychotics are contraindicated for patients with depressive syndrome; MAO inhibitors are used in therapy. Opioid pharmaceuticals (tramadol, codeine, etc.) can significantly reduce restless legs syndrome, however, due to the likelihood of developing addiction, they are used only in exceptional cases.
Idiopathic restless legs syndrome is usually characterized by a slow progression of symptoms. However, its course is uneven: there may be periods of remission and periods of worsening symptoms. The latter are provoked by intense exercise, stress, caffeine-containing products, and pregnancy. Approximately 15% of patients experience long-term (up to several years) remissions. The course of symptomatic RLS is related to the underlying disease. In most patients, adequately selected therapy can achieve a significant reduction in the severity of symptoms and a significant improvement in the quality of life.
Prevention of secondary RLS includes timely and successful treatment of kidney diseases, vascular disorders, spinal cord lesions, rheumatic diseases; correction of various deficiency conditions, metabolic disorders, etc. The prevention of idiopathic RLS is facilitated by maintaining a normal daily routine, avoiding stressful situations and excessive stress, and avoiding drinking alcohol and caffeine-containing drinks.
Restless legs syndrome is a concept or one of the medical terms, the meaning of which refers to a certain group of neurological disorders.
All these disorders are characterized by rather unpleasant and subjective manifestations in the legs during their rest. These manifestations force the patient to frequently perform actions with his feet that relieve pain or discomfort and often disturb night sleep.
Restless legs syndrome can be primary or secondary. The syndrome is called primary when it appears for no apparent reason. And the syndrome is classified as secondary in cases where it develops against the background of other pathological conditions or diseases.
The causes of the secondary form of restless legs syndrome are usually: pregnancy with manifestations of toxicosis, renal failure, iron deficiency in the body, lack of B vitamins and folic acid, thyroid pathologies, chronic arterial and venous diseases of the legs, diabetes mellitus, radiculopathy, spinal lesions, alcoholism.
Also, with manifestations of polyneuropathy, a secondary form of this syndrome may develop.
The development of this syndrome most often begins in people after the age of forty-five. Restless legs syndrome is a progressive disease with rare remissions. Its course and development are directly related and depend on the disease that served as the impetus for its onset. According to statistics, women are one and a half times more likely to suffer from restless legs syndrome than men.
Unpleasant and subjective manifestations of restless legs syndrome in medicine include: wandering pain, burning, crawling, tingling. The localization of these sensations is also different: it can be the legs, feet, thighs, and perineum.
Unpleasant sensations appear in waves approximately every five to thirty seconds, and intensify when the legs are sitting or lying down, that is, at rest. This often manifests itself before bedtime and disappears when the patient begins to move his legs (walk, stand, do exercises).
In the morning, the symptoms of restless legs syndrome disappear, but can continue throughout the night, resulting in periodic twitching of the feet or the entire leg, thereby interrupting and disrupting the patient’s sleep. And then the person feels drowsiness and fatigue throughout the working day.
Diagnosis of restless legs syndrome is carried out by a neurologist, who bases his conclusions on medical history and has an understanding of the essence of the disease itself.
When examined by a doctor during the daytime, there are no manifestations of the syndrome, and no violations are detected. Therefore, to confirm the suspected diagnosis, a polysomnographic study is prescribed. There are no other medical diagnostic methods for restless legs syndrome.
In case of secondary syndrome, it is important to establish the cause of its development, therefore in this case other laboratory and instrumental diagnostic methods are used, such as: computed and magnetic resonance imaging, ultrasound, blood tests, radiography and others.
Prevention of restless legs syndrome includes the following measures: standard physical activity and activity, avoiding prolonged sitting during the day, walking in the air before bed, taking multivitamins, ventilating the room, especially before bed, massage of the legs and feet, avoiding drinking alcohol, smoking, antidepressants, neurolytics, avoiding stress and maintaining a certain daily regimen.
Treatment of restless legs syndrome consists of following the regimen prescribed and recommended by your doctor. This range of therapeutic measures is selected for each patient individually, and depends on the form of the disease (primary or secondary).
Non-drug treatment methods include magnetic therapy, balneotherapy, darsonvalization, reflexology, and physical therapy.
If these measures and methods are incompletely effective, sedative drugs of plant origin are prescribed. In more severe and advanced cases, the patient is prescribed dopaminergic drugs, opioids, benzodiazepines and anticonvulsants.
In the secondary form of restless legs syndrome, the causative disease is treated first.
The so-called restless legs syndrome is a pathology in which a person who has it has discomfort in the lower extremities. Because of this, he has an irresistible desire to move them, which leads to a temporary elimination of discomfort. According to medical statistics, restless legs are diagnosed in 2 - 10% of the human population. Such a wide range is due to the fact that patients most often do not turn to specialists for help with their problem, despite the fact that they do not know what to do with their illness.
However, when a person often has pain in his legs at night, his quality of life can noticeably decrease. If the unpleasant sensations are strong enough, then it becomes very difficult for him to sleep. Because the disease tends to progress, the patient may eventually develop insomnia. From statistics it follows that about 15% of people with insomnia suffer from it precisely because they have corresponding pain in their legs constantly or sometimes at night.
RLS is a disease whose symptoms are individual for each person. Some people have twisting legs at night, others they just start to hurt when they go to bed, others tell doctors that if they relax their limbs, they seem to start burning, etc. d. The only thing they agree on is that the corresponding sensations are very unpleasant, they cause serious discomfort due to which their quality of sleep deteriorates.
If we talk about the general clinical picture, then a disease such as restless legs syndrome has the following symptoms:
In some patients, this condition is observed not only when their body is in a lying position, but also when they are in a sitting position. Often in such cases the pulling effect is less pronounced, but also causes significant suffering to the person.
First, the causes are always determined, and treatment is prescribed only when the attending physician has accurately identified the etymology of the disease. The fact is that when a person’s legs burn at night, this may be due to a lack of a certain microelement in his body. Only a doctor can determine this. Actually, it is for this reason that treatment of the disease with folk remedies almost never leads to the desired result. However, some, believing that their remedy can help, continue to perform meaningless rituals. This is especially true when a child falls ill. Mothers and grandmothers who are not savvy in medical matters, for example, rub the feet of children who have complained of discomfort in the lower extremities with alcohol. Therefore, it is strongly recommended not to perform the treatment at home, but instead seek the advice of a doctor.
Most often, such an ailment as restless legs syndrome has the following causes:
The list of reasons is quite extensive, and there is no drug that is guaranteed to help. But some, if they do not use traditional medicine, then use some kind of pharmacological agent, for example, they prescribe treatment with mirapex themselves. Perhaps in some cases it will help relieve the symptom, but will not get rid of the cause. And in the end, a person will have to always use this medication, spending a lot of money and depleting his health.
A disease such as restless legs syndrome requires treatment, first of all, of the primary ailment. If a person has a deficiency of vitamin B and / or iron, then appropriate substances are prescribed to him; if the patient has problems with blood vessels, then therapeutic measures are taken to correct the condition of the arteries, etc. d.
To get rid of restless legs syndrome, in combination with the main treatment, the patient must follow some of the doctor’s recommendations, such as:
Correction of the condition can take quite a long time, and therefore, if discomfort in the lower extremities causes severe suffering to the patient, he is temporarily prescribed sedatives. First, they try herbal substances, but if they do not help, then they prescribe opioids or benzozepines. They alleviate the patient's condition, but such treatment for restless legs syndrome can only be prescribed by a specialist, since these substances belong to the class of narcotics.
And to reinforce this, it should be said: only a neurologist knows what to do with restless legs syndrome. Only he is guaranteed to be able to identify the causes of the pathology and prescribe the correct therapy.
Restless legs syndrome is a manifestation of unpleasant sensations that occur in the lower extremities at rest. More often, this condition bothers you at night and forces the patient to perform a number of movements. They are necessary to relieve or alleviate disturbing symptoms and lead to the fact that a person wakes up.
With repeated manifestations, sleep disturbance occurs. How to get rid of restless legs syndrome (RLS) is a pressing question for every person who has experienced this condition at least once.
Since the condition occurs at rest and is reflected specifically in the lower extremities, this manifestation forces a person to get up in the middle of the night and walk around the room.
Only physical activity helps to stop unpleasant manifestations. What are the symptoms of restless legs syndrome, as well as the causes, that force the patient to get up and “wander” around the premises?
Despite the fact that the disease has been known since the 17th century, the exact causes of its manifestation have not yet been established. It is known that the occurrence of such a neurological disease can be affected by a hereditary factor.
There are two types of syndrome - primary (idiopathic) and secondary (symptomatic). The first of these accounts for more than half of all cases of pathology. In this case, the disease is transmitted from parents to children.
The symptomatic syndrome appears on average after reaching 45 years of age. It occurs due to metabolic disorders, damage to the nerve endings of the lower extremities or their vessels.
It has been established that the symptomatic form of the syndrome occurs due to the following conditions or diseases:
Restless legs syndrome that disturbs you at night and is caused by medication use can occur due to long-term use of the following medications:
Restless legs syndrome may occur due to a deficiency of folic acid (vitamin B9) or magnesium.
The disease progresses quite slowly. The course of the secondary form of restless legs syndrome depends on the cause and treatment is prescribed according to the identified disease.
Most of the patients interviewed find it difficult to answer exactly what they experience when an attack occurs. In this regard, a general formulation appeared: “unpleasant sensations appearing in the lower extremities.”
In this case, many patients name such factors as burning, twitching or crawling on the skin. Sometimes seizures appear as manifestations. At the same time, only a third of patients indicate painful sensations.
Many also say that the condition improves significantly after tingling. Typically, sensations appear on both legs at once, but can occur asymmetrically in different places, being localized chaotically. Attacks are possible both single and wave-like. They usually appear in the first half of the night. However, they are also possible during the daytime.
Common symptoms for patients are the following:
It should be borne in mind that if treatment is postponed “for later,” the depressive state will only intensify and therapy will last much longer.
Restless legs syndrome in children is sometimes mistakenly identified by parents as a manifestation of “growing pains.” However, such self-diagnosis subsequently leads to psychological disorders in the child. There are studies that ultimately claim that the syndrome in children is associated with a lack of attention from adults to their child.
There is also an assumption that the disorder manifests itself due to the hyperactivity of children. However, the true causes of the syndrome in childhood have not been precisely established. At the same time, during research it was revealed that unpleasant manifestations do not disappear on their own, but over the years their severity progresses.
During pregnancy, the syndrome occurs in 15–30% of expectant mothers. Often its symptoms begin to appear in the 3rd trimester. Moreover, they disappear on their own within the first month after birth. However, the very appearance of such symptoms already indicates the presence of problems in the body.
There is an assumption that if the syndrome is associated with pathological factors, then it can be transmitted to the child at the genetic level. To find out the causes of the disease, you need to contact a specialist.
Diagnosing the syndrome is quite simple. There is a list of criteria that are characteristic exclusively for this pathology. If they coincide, additional diagnostics or tests will not be required. To relieve bothersome symptoms, treatment can be started immediately.
However, to identify the true cause of the syndrome or in cases where the criteria are incomplete, additional examination is required. To do this you may need:
Doppler ultrasound of the leg vessels may be necessary. It is possible to use polysomnography, which allows you to record any involuntary movements. This makes it possible to dynamically evaluate the effectiveness of the therapy in reducing the intensity of symptoms.
Any sick person is interested in how to get rid of restless leg syndrome as soon as possible. However, this partly depends on the patient himself. The sooner you see a doctor, the more likely it is that restless legs syndrome will be treated in a short time.
After adequate diagnosis has been performed, as well as the root cause of the pathology has been identified, complex therapy is prescribed. It is often associated with correcting a deficiency of essential substances. In this case, multivitamin complexes are prescribed, which include vitamins B9, B12, iron or magnesium. However, only a specialist can decide how to treat the syndrome.
The following drugs are usually prescribed:
If the patient is depressed, when chronic insomnia is severe, psychotherapy can be prescribed individually. In the case of neurological pathology, such sessions must be prescribed.
During pregnancy, the drug approach should be excluded. However, for severe symptoms, low doses of Clonazepam or Levodopa may be prescribed.
From the moment of the onset of unpleasant sensations and forced nighttime physical activity, there is a need to follow general preventive measures. To answer patients’ questions about what to do, the following recommendations exist:
In some cases, it is not possible to determine the cause of the pathology. However, treatment can last a lifetime. However, timely consultation with a doctor in most cases reduces the treatment time.