Restless Leg Syndrome – Understanding RLS

One of the common ailments troubling us includes leg pains. Now there may be a lot of reasons that may be causing leg pains but we are going to talk about the most common of these i.e. Restless Leg Syndrome or RLS as it is commonly known. This is basically a neurological disorder in which one feels a strong urge to move their limbs in order to avoid unpleasant sensations and feelings. By such movement, the unpleasant sensations are forgotten for a while and a temporary relaxation is experienced. However if the movement is not allowed, the feelings keep gathering force and make a person more and more uncomfortable.

RLS is characterized by either itching or tickling kind of sensations. There are other sensations such as creeping, aching, burning etc. which are also associated with this problem. These are persistent feelings which result in restlessness prompting a person to cause some movement. Even after the movement, the need to move may return almost immediately or at a later stage. The sensations generally

set in when a person is in a relaxed state such as while reading, studying, watching TV etc. This problem is not only physically bothersome but can also be emotionally draining. Most individuals suffering from RLS experience the moving or jerking of their legs in sleep. This is the most noticeable objective indicator of the disorder which can keep a person awake in night and as such results in loss of precious sleep. As proper sleep is absolutely essential to good quality of life, such disruptions hamper the behavior and attitude of the person affected, making them more irritated and cranky.

The research being done in this field shows that the main cause of this problem is heredity. It has also been revealed through the studies that the problem becomes more common with age and thus has a bigger ratio of prevalence in the older people. The symptoms are found to be more pronounced in the evenings and also when a person has been seated for long periods of time. The other major aggravating factor to this problem is stress. Although it may be possible that some or all of the possible causes may be present in the patient but it is very difficult to pinpoint the exact cause of the problem. The relief is often available in some sort of
prescription drugs but they also carry the risk of side effects besides being addictive in nature.