RESTLESS LEG SYNDROME!!!!
hrm… so this weekend, psycho mentioned restless leg syndrome as perhaps the cause of my perpetually shaking legs. i’m not sure this is what is causing my shaking since i don’t think it’s preventing me from sleeping (though i’ve been told i do shake when i sleep… but i don’t know how reliable that information is since i’ve never seen myself shake while asleep) and it’s not as if i get weird sensations in my legs that are causing me to shake… (or at least i don’t think i am), but i decided to look up the syndrome on webmd anyways. good information to know!
from http://www.webmd.com/content/article/105/107675.htm:
Sleep Disorders:
Restless Legs Syndrome
Restless legs syndrome (RLS) is a sleep disorder that causes tingling, pulling, creeping or painful sensations in the legs at night. This sensation is brought on by lying down in bed or sitting for prolonged periods, such as while driving or at a theatre. RLS typically occurs in the evening, making it difficult to fall asleep. Often, people with RLS want to walk around and shake their legs to help relieve the uncomfortable sensation.
What Are the Symptoms of RLS?
RLS symptoms include uncomfortable leg sensations like cramping or tingling generally in the calf region of the leg. When RLS is advanced, a person may feel these symptoms in the hands and arms. Unusual sensations typically surface at nighttime and at rest. Often, sensations can be reduced or eliminated by stretching, walking, or exercising the affected muscles. As a result of these symptoms, people with RLS often have difficulty falling asleep and staying asleep.
What Causes RLS?
The exact cause of RLS is unknown; however, stress appears to make the condition worse. Pregnancy can also bring on the syndrome, as can anemia (particularly due to low iron levels), kidney problems, diabetes and rheumatoid arthritis. Caffeine and some prescription medications contribute to the development of RLS in some cases. In addition, RLS has been found to be a genetic syndrome, as parents with RLS can pass it down to their children.
There is evidence that RLS, like Parkinson’s disease, has been found to be accompanied by a selective destruction of dopamine neurons (nerve cells) in the substantia nigra of the midbrain. The destruction of these neurons affects motor control in the body and can contribute to leg discomfort at night in cases of RLS. Other studies showed that there may be a deficiency in specific receptors in the brain that regulate iron in those that suffer from RLS. Research is actively being conducted to further investigate these relationships.
How Is RLS Diagnosed?
Your doctor may ask you questions about your family health history (for example, if you have any family members with RLS) and will take note of symptoms like sleepiness or insomniainsomnia. Additionally, your doctor will conduct a full physical and neurological exam to check for nerve damage or blood vessel problems and may order a series or blood tests to rule out medical disorders associated with RLS. However, there are no tests designed specifically for diagnosing RLS.
Who Gets RLS?
People of any age, including children, can get RLS. It may affect women slightly more than men and typically strikes older adults with an increased severity. Young people who have RLS or who show the symptoms of RLS are usually dismissed as having growing pains or are considered to be overexerting themselves during physical activity. About 5% to 10% of the U.S. population suffers from RLS.
How Is RLS Treated?
RLS is treated in different ways, depending on the intensity of the symptoms. Using an ice pack or heating pad, taking a warm bath, exercising, or lowering caffeine intake will sometimes alleviate the problem. For more severe symptoms, medications are often prescribed. These medications may include dopamine drugs, which often are prescribed to help Parkinson’s disease patients. Dopamine drugs stimulate dopamine activity and have been found very helpful in easing RLS pain. Other medications that may be helpful to control the symptoms of RLS are sleeping pills, pain medication or medicines commonly used to treat epilepsy (recurrent seizures).
Tips to Control RLS Symptoms
* Avoid caffeine, alcohol and tobacco.
* Massage the calf and legs regularly.
* Stretch your legs at the beginning and end of each day.
* Exercise. Some people with RLS find that running in place for a short period of time alleviates the symptoms of RLS.
* Maintain a regular sleep schedule since fatigue may worsen symptoms.
If your symptoms are so severe that exercising or stretching the legs becomes painful, it is best for you to consult your doctor for alternative methods to control your symptoms.
from http://www.webmd.com/content/article/66/79743.htm:
Cause Found for Restless Leg Syndrome
June 9, 2003 — Restless leg syndrome is caused by a flaw in specific brain cells, a new study suggests.
Penn State University researcher James Connor, PhD, led a team that autopsied the brains of seven deceased people with restless leg syndrome. The findings: Nothing was wrong with the brains themselves.
That’s good news. Some experts had feared that the syndrome might mean some kind of Alzheimer’s-like degenerative disease. What Connor’s team found was a problem with brain cells in a specific part of the middle brain known as the substantia nigra.
All brain cells need iron. They get it from transport molecules that carry iron from the blood. Normal brain cells have doorways that let these transporters into the cell. Patients with restless leg syndrome lacked these portals, known as transferrin receptors.
“We hope these discoveries lead to a test that could diagnose this syndrome,” Connor says in a news release. He hopes the findings provide the basis for new treatments.
People with restless leg syndrome, or RLS, have a creepy-crawly feeling in their legs. This causes an irresistible urge to move the legs. It’s a major cause of sleep loss, as the symptoms are most likely to occur at night.
Connor warns that the findings don’t mean people with RLS need iron supplements.
“This doesn’t necessarily mean that a person has a dietary iron deficiency and needs supplements,” he says. “It means only that these receptors aren’t packaging and delivering an adequate amount of iron to the specific cells in this portion of the brain.”
Connor reported the findings at the recent annual meeting of the Association of Professional Sleep Societies in Chicago.
July 5th, 2006 at 4:15 pm
hmm… that does sound like you. and it’s not just your legs, but your hands/arms too!
August 1st, 2006 at 2:10 pm
I’ve looked into RLS alot lately too, and I’m frustrated that there is ‘no known cause.’ I like the info you put on your blog, it has been very helpful for me! I learned one thing about a possible cause that has helped me: everything in our body has a nerve that has a path through the spinal cord to our brains for communication. So to keep those nerves paths clear and optimal helps minimize some issues. So every night before bed, I sit in my massage chair to get rid of some stress and release tense muscles, and I can sleep a bit better now. I’ll try an iron supplement too, thanks!