Restless Legs Syndrome
Restless Legs Syndrome
Calm Crawly, Fidgety Legs
After sitting at her desk for an hour peering at rows of data on a computer screen, an odd sensation began to creep through Claudia's calves. She shifted her legs and tried to ignore it, but the urge to move kept coming back. Eventually, she gave up, leaned back in her chair and stretched, and the odd sensation--the one that she sometimes says feels like "ants crawling on my bones"--had disappeared.
Claudia is actually pretty lucky. The crawling ants feeling that she gets and her need to stretch are typical of restless legs syndrome--or what is also known as anxietas tibiarum, says Sheryl Siegel, M.D., assistant professor of neurology at New York Medical College in Valhalla, New York.
Restless legs can occur whenever someone is sitting or lying down. "We have no idea what causes restless legs," says Sarah Stolz, M.D., a neurologist at Providence Medical Center Sleep Disorders Center in Seattle. "But if you have it, it can make you miserable."
Pregnant women seem to have a one in ten chance of developing restless legs, says Dr. Stolz. People with nerve damage in their legs from diabetes or lumbar disk disease, for example, are also prone to restless legs. And some people with kidney disease who are unable to filter metabolic waste from their blood constantly feel the need to shift their legs 24 hours a day.
TRIAL AND ERROR
Since restless legs may have different causes, and no one treatment works for everyone, women doctors say that the only way to find relief is to try various tactics, then use what works.
Point your toes. If restless legs strike while you're sitting, point your toes and stretch both your legs from foot to hip, says Dr. Siegel.
Most people with restless legs try to resist the impulse to move their legs. But if you do, the urge to move will just build until nothing short of a day-long hike will satisfy the urge to move. Better to give in to the first impulse to move, she advises. You'll likely "travel" a shorter distance.
What Women Doctors Do
Stretch, Walk, Read Sheryl Siegel, M.D. An assistant professor of neurology at New York Medical College in Valhalla, New York, Sheryl Siegel, M.D., gets restless legs once or twice a year. Here's what she does for relief. "I only get minor symptoms--nothing like what some women experience," says Dr. Siegel. "So my routine is simple. I stretch my legs and walk up and down the stairs a few times. Then I pick up a book and read until I fall asleep." As an alternative, Dr. Siegel recommends a technique called progressive muscle relaxation. Simply do this: Lie back with your arms at your sides and close your eyes. Breathe deeply, then exhale. Then, starting with your toes and ending with your scalp, tense and relax each muscle group, one at a time. Do this for at least five minutes.
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When To See A Doctor
If your legs are so restless that the discomfort interferes with sleep, your job or other everyday activities, see your doctor. After ruling out any underlying problems, she may prescribe one of a variety of medications or other ways to try and control the problem. Also, if you're currently being treated for kidney disease and experience a bothersome numbness or tingling in your feet, see your doctor.
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Get up. If restless legs strike after you have gone to bed, again, don't resist the urge to move, says Dr. Siegel. "Get out of bed and walk up and down the hall a couple of times or, if you have stairs, up and down the stairs."
Focus on B vitamins and iron. Some scientists suspect that a deficiency of folate (a B vitamin) or iron--or both--may have something to do with the cause of restless legs. Dr. Stolz says that it makes sense to make sure that your diet has rich sources of both. Legumes, oranges and orange juice, brussels sprouts, spinach, asparagus and strawberries are good sources of folate. Steamed clams, lean beef, turkey, chicken, tofu, whole-grain bread and legumes provide a hefty serving of iron.
Try to get the Daily Value of both iron and folic acid (the supplement form of folate) every day, says Dr. Stolz--400 micrograms of folic acid and 18 milligrams of iron. It's a good idea to take a multivitamin/mineral supplement to be sure that you're getting the right amounts, but don't go overboard with megadoses. A supplement that contains the Daily Value amounts is sufficient.
Try hot or cold. Some women find that hot baths relieve restless legs, while others find that cold packs do the trick, says Dr. Stolz. She suggests that individual women experiment to see what works.
Avoid evening aerobic exercise. Although movement is important, try to schedule exercise that increases your heart rate for during the day rather than in the evening, says Dr. Siegel. Some women seem to experience restless legs more frequently after late exercise.
Relax. Once you've turned out the light and crawled between the sheets, try a relaxation exercise such as progressive muscle relaxation, says Dr. Siegel. "This is a two-step process: muscle relaxation followed by steady breathing." First, lie on your back with your arms at your sides and close your eyes. Take a deep breath and exhale. Then, tense and relax every muscle group you can identify, one at a time, starting with your toes and working all the way to your scalp. Then, start to count each inhalation and exhalation separately, so that on the first inhalation, you count "one," and on the first exhalation, you count "one" also. Count to eight, then start counting all over again. As thoughts or noises interrupt your breathing pattern, let them go and return to your counting and breathing. Do this for 5 to 20 minutes, depending on what you have time for.
