I have recently gained more information on Restless leg syndrome and some possible help for all you out there suffering. I have added the 4 diagnostic findings from the International restless leg criteria for you to question for yourselves.
- “An urge to move, usually due to uncomfortable sensations that occur primarily in the legs, but occasionally in the arms or elsewhere.”e sensations are unusual and unlike other common sensations, and those with RLS have a hard time describing them.
- People use words such as: uncomfortable, “antsy”, electrical, creeping, painful, itching, pins and needles, pulling, creepy-crawly, ants inside the legs, numbness, and many others. It is sometimes described as feeling similar to a limb “falling asleep”. See formication. While it may be impossible to describe the sensation to someone without RLS, other RLS sufferers can easily relate to the peculiar sensation. The sensation and the urge can occur in any body part; the most cited location is legs, followed by arms. Some people have little or no sensation, yet still have a strong urge to move.
- “Motor restlessness, expressed as activity, that relieves the urge to move.” Movement will usually bring immediate relief; however, this relief will often be only temporary and partial. Walking is most common; however, doing stretches, biking, or other physical activity may relieve the symptoms. Continuous, fast up-and-down movements of the leg, is often done to keep the sensations at bay without having to walk. Sometimes a specific type of movement will help a person more than another.
- “Worsening of symptoms by relaxation.” Any type of inactivity involving sitting or lying down: reading a book, a plane ride, watching TV or a movie, or taking a nap can trigger the sensations and urge to move. This depends on several factors: the severity of the person’s RLS, the degree of restfulness, the duration of the inactivity, etc.
- “Variability over the course of the day-night cycle, with symptoms worse in the evening and early in the night.”
While some only experience RLS at bedtime and others experience it throughout the day and night, most sufferers experience the worst symptoms in the evening and the least in the morning.
Now here’s my advice! There is much evidence that restless leg syndrome is associated with malfunction of the basal ganglia and other areas of the brain. Much of the problem seems to stem from malabsorption of nutrients. A common cause of malabsorption is Celiac disease. Celiac disease is a condition of allergy to gluten. Celiac disease and other food allergies can cause leaky gut syndromes that allow inflammatory reactions in the gut that ultimately then affect the nervous system and rest of the body. There are known conditions of gluten sensitivity cerebellar syndromes as well. There seems to be a high correlation between Celiac disease and restless leg syndrome.
If you think you may have restless leg syndrome it would be very safe (but not easy), for you to try a gluten free diet for a few weeks. Also, perform a gut cleanse diet. there is much evidence that cleansing the gut also helps many other inflammatory conditions like lupus, MS, and rheumatoid arthritis as well. If you see no change, a chiropractic neurology exam to finds other triggers would be helpful.
