Restless legs syndrome history and symptoms

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Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1]

Symptoms

Urges to Move

Urges to move, usually due to uncomfortable sensations that occur primarily in the legs, are common amongst those affected. These 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, and many others. 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

Motor restlessness is expressed as activity that relieves the urge to move. Movement will usually bring immediate relief. However, often only temporary and partial. Walking is most common, but doing stretches, yoga, biking, or other physical activity may relieve the symptoms. Constant and fast up-and-down movement of the leg, coined "sewing machine legs" by at least one RLS sufferer, 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, such as 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, including the severity of the person’s RLS, the degree of restfulness, the duration of the inactivity, etc.

Temporal Variability

Symptoms may vary over the course of the day-night cycle, with symptoms worse in the evening and early in the night. Most sufferers experience the worst symptoms in the evening and the least in the morning. However, some sufferers still only experience RLS at bedtime and others throughout both day and night.

NIH Criteria

In 2003, a National Institutes of Health (NIH) consensus panel modified their criteria to include the following:

• (1) An urge to move the limbs with or without sensations
• (2) Worsening at rest
• (3) Improvement with activity
• (4) Worsening in the evening or night.<ref>{{cite journal | author = Allen R, Picchietti D, Hening W, Trenkwalder C, Walters A, Montplaisi J | title = Restless legs syndrome: diagnostic criteria, special considerations, and epidemiology. A report from the restless legs syndrome diagnosis and epidemiology workshop at the National Institutes of Health. | jou

References

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