Restless Legs Syndrome

If you have restless legs syndrome, your experience might be something like this:

You sit at the dinner table eating an evening meal and feel an uncomfortable, sometimes painful, sensation deep within your legs. It worsens as the evening wears on. When you walk or move, the pain subsides. At night, these sensations frequently disturb sleep, and result in chronic fatigue or insomnia. You begin to experience a deterioration of your quality of life.

These are classic symptoms of restless legs syndrome, or RLS, a condition that affects up to 10% of the population. In 1995, the International RLS Study Group developed standardized criteria for the diagnosis of RLS, which has served to help doctors to more accurately diagnose RLS. Four criteria were set forth by the study group and are summarized as follows:

• An urge to move or unpleasant sensations that:
  • Occur primarily in the legs
  • Begins or worsens during periods of rest
  • Are partially or totally relieved by movement
  • Worsen in the evening or night

The cause of RLS is unknown, but some associated risk factors include uremia (accumulation of urinary waste products in the blood), iron deficiency (ferritin < 20 µg/mL), diabetes and spinal cord or peripheral nerve injury.

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