Understanding Restless Legs Syndrome (RLS): Causes, Symptoms, and Management

What is it?

Restless legs syndrome (RLS), is a disorder characterized by an often unpleasant sensations in the legs, along with a powerful urge to move them. usually it occurs during periods of inactivity, particularly in the evening and night. During sleep, most patients with RLS have characteristic limb movements, called periodic limb movements of sleep (PLMS), which may or may not be associated with arousal from sleep.
RLS is a "spectrum" disease with some people experiencing only a minor annoyance and others having major disruption of sleep and impairments in quality of life.
Risk factors include family history, female gender, iron deficiency, renal failure, neuropathy, spinal cord pathology, multiple sclerosis and pregnancy.

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Signs & symptoms

The most prominent symptom of RLS is the overwhelming urge to move your legs, especially when you’re sitting still or lying in bed. This urge may be transiently relieved by movement.
People with RLS are likely to have trouble falling asleep or staying asleep because symptoms are worse at night. Sleep deprivation may cause Daytime sleepiness and fatigue, which can harm your physical and emotional health.

Diagnosis

There isn’t one single test that can confirm or rule out RLS. the diagnosis is based on your description of symptoms and does not require additional testing, except sometimes for an assessment of iron stores and renal function.

Treatment

Treatment may include:
* iron supplementation as needed
* lifestyle changes – reduced caffeine intake, avoidance of certain medications that may aggravate symptoms, regular exercise, adherence to sleep hygiene principles and more.
* Medications

☝️ This is not a substitute for professional medical advice. Please consult with your physician before making any medical decision.

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Source of Information - We analyze big data of more than 23 million patients de-identified medical records from the following sources:

National Institution of Health ∙ World Health Organization ∙ University of Illinois hospital