Restless Leg Syndrome (RLS)
Dysesthesias
What is RLS?
Restless leg syndrome is a neurological disorder that causes your legs to have unpleasant sensations. It Gives you uncomfortable and uncontrollable urges to move your legs. It is classified as a movement disorder. RLS forces the individual to move the affected area to provide relief unless they are in remission where you dont have these urges of leg movement and discomfort.
Common signs and symptoms
Some common signs of RLS are uncompfortable sensations in legs especially when sitting or lying down. Also, if you get these feelings, or sensations, whenever you arent moving. Trouble sleeping because of leg discompfort is a good way of analyzing if you have RLS.
What causes RLS?
In most cases the cause for Restless Leg Syndrome is unknown. Some researchers say that it may have to do with genetics for some people. Another thing that research shows is that low iron levels in your brain might affect RLS. Symtoms occur more drastically during pregnancy or if you have sleep deprivation.
How do you treat RLS?
There is no real treatment for Restless Leg Syndrome; however, there are ways to help relieve symptoms and temporarily get better.Some ways to help RLS are some medications. Most people find that certain medications help them to stop having the uncompfortable sensations of RLS but you dont want to take medication for it too often because it could lead to even worse health problems since the medication isnt specifically for RLS. Another thing is moderate excersize or excersize routine. You want to have a regular excersize schedule that isnt too excessive but still a good amount. Also you can see if decreasing your intake of caffine, alcohol, and tobacco helps but you usually only notice the improvement from this if you have a very mild case of RLS.
Different severities of RLS
You can either have mild, moderate, or severe severities of RLS. In mild cases you may feel discomport while trying to fall asleep in your legs once in awhile. With moderate symptoms you may have strong difficulty falling asleep once or twice a week and also have a hard time sitting down for long. In severe cases you have difficulty falling asleep almost every night unless you are in a remission period. It will be difficult to even sit still at all. You might not just get these uncompfortable sensations in your legs but also your arms and back.
Other information and facts about RLS
Although it's uncommon, you can have RLS in just one side of your body. RLS is a lifelong condition. About 1 in 10 people have RLS. RLS can affect people of any age, however it is most common for middle aged people. Even though men can have RLS, it's almost twice as likely for women.
Bibliography
http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/restless_legs/detail_restless_legs.htmhttp://www.webmd.com/brain/restless-legs-syndrome/restless-legs-syndrome-rlshttp://www.md-health.com/Restless-Leg-Syndrome.html