It couldn’t be more aptly named: if you have Restless Leg Syndrome, it means your legs won’t stay still. Also called Willis-Ekbom Disease, restless leg affects nearly 10 percent of adults in America. It happens at any age, to both men and women, and the discomfort happens more frequently and lasts longer as you get older.
If you feel a strange, “jittery” sensation in your legs, especially in the evening, come see the sleep medicine specialists at Central Maine Healthcare. Our board-certified physicians can diagnose the condition and recommend the right treatment to help your legs relax, so you can get some much-needed sleep.
Understanding Restless Legs
Restless leg won’t directly damage your health, but it’s extremely uncomfortable and stops you from getting good sleep (which is never healthy). Like any sleep disorder, the lack of sleep brings on daytime fatigue and sleepiness, sometimes to the point of exhaustion. Because you’re tired, you may not be able concentrate, study or work well—all factors that contribute to depression and anxiety.
People with restless leg describe it, first, as an irresistible urge to move their lower limbs. They say it feels like an aching, throbbing, pulling, crawling, itching or creeping sensation, often with some pain. It begins in late afternoon or evening and is most severe at night. It varies from day to day, usually affecting both legs. It’s considered severe when you feel it more than twice a week and it affects your daily functioning. Moving around can relieve the restlessness, but it often returns.
Causes
We can’t be sure what causes restless leg, but we do know it has a genetic component. It’s also related to low iron in your brain, and low levels of dopamine, a brain chemical needed to produce smooth, purposeful muscle movements — the opposite of what your limbs do when you have restless leg syndrome.
Certain medications aggravate the condition, such as anti-nausea drugs, antipsychotic drugs, some antidepressants and select cold and allergy medicines. Alcohol, nicotine and caffeine can make it worse, so if you have restless leg, you may be able to temper it a bit by cutting back on those substances. Pregnant women are susceptible, as are people with nerve damage (neuropathy).
Helping You Get a Relaxing Sleep
Diagnosing restless leg syndrome isn’t a complex process; it’s one sleep disorder with unique symptoms that your doctor will recognize.
Your specialist at Central Maine will help you find the right treatment, which may involve lifestyle changes such as cutting alcohol and tobacco use, setting and sticking to a regular sleep pattern and doing moderate exercise, including aerobics and leg stretching.
Iron supplements might also if a blood test shows you’re iron-deficient. Your doctor might want to try anti-seizure medications, which increasingly are the first line of defense in treating restless leg.
For non-drug therapies, massaging your legs can soothe and relax your muscles, reducing the discomfort of restless leg. If the idea of massaging appeals to you, ask your doctor to look into new devices that wrap around the leg and vibrate, delivering relief to the muscles running down the back of your legs.
It couldn’t be more aptly named: if you have Restless Leg Syndrome, it means your legs won’t stay still. Also called Willis-Ekbom Disease, restless leg affects nearly 10 percent of adults in America. It happens at any age, to both men and women, and the discomfort happens more frequently and lasts longer as you get older.
If you feel a strange, “jittery” sensation in your legs, especially in the evening, come see the sleep medicine specialists at Central Maine Healthcare. Our board-certified physicians can diagnose the condition and recommend the right treatment to help your legs relax, so you can get some much-needed sleep.
