Restless Legs Syndrome Symptoms

Restless legs syndrome refers to the condition in which the calves feel deeper than normal when resting, which is often unbearable and can only be relieved through proper massage and exercise. People with this condition will constantly move and often cannot keep their legs in one position. They will also feel a sense of restlessness, pain in the lower limbs, swelling in the lower limbs, and in more severe cases, there may be tingling and burning sensations, as well as itching, restlessness, and numbness in the legs. These are all worthy of attention.

Restless Legs Syndrome

Restless legs syndrome refers to a syndrome in which unbearable discomfort occurs deep in the calf when resting, which can be temporarily relieved by exercise or massage. It is also known as "restless limb syndrome" and the medical history was first reported by Ekiom.

1 Causes

It is currently believed that restless legs syndrome is a central nervous system disease, and the specific cause has not yet been fully elucidated. It is mainly divided into primary and secondary. Patients with primary restless legs syndrome often have a family history. It is currently believed that genes such as BTBD9, Meis1, MAP2K5, and LBXCOR1 may be related to restless legs syndrome; patients with secondary restless legs syndrome may be seen in iron deficiency anemia, pregnant women or postpartum women, late-stage kidney disease, rheumatic diseases, diabetes, Parkinson's disease, hereditary motor sensory neuropathy type II, spinocerebellar ataxia type I/II, and multiple sclerosis.

2 Clinical manifestations

1. Location

Restless legs syndrome often occurs in the lower limbs, most commonly in the gastrocnemius muscle, and occasionally in the thighs or upper limbs, usually in a symmetrical manner.

2. Nature

Patients with restless legs syndrome often experience tearing, crawling, creeping, tingling, burning, pain, itching, numbness and other discomforts in the legs. They have an urgent and strong feeling of wanting to move, which leads to excessive activity.

3. Time

Restless legs syndrome occurs when the patient is at rest, and the symptoms are more severe at night or after a period of rest. Sometimes they only last for a few minutes, while in severe cases they last all night. Moving the lower limbs can significantly alleviate the symptoms, but the symptoms will be significantly worse after the patient rests or falls asleep.

4. Insomnia

Due to nocturnal insomnia, restless legs patients suffer from severe daytime sleepiness and reduced work ability.

3. Inspection

The diagnosis of restless legs syndrome mainly relies on clinical manifestations, but auxiliary examinations can rule out some secondary causes, mainly including serum ferritin, transferrin, serum iron binding capacity, renal function, blood sugar, etc.; in some cases, it may be necessary to examine the head MRI, electroencephalogram, electromyogram, polysomnography, lumbar CT or MRI, lower limb vascular color Doppler ultrasound, etc.

4 Diagnosis

Diagnostic criteria: The International Restless Legs Syndrome Study Group (IRLSSG) has developed a minimum diagnostic criteria consisting of four symptoms.

1. Abnormal sensation: Due to the indescribable discomfort in the limbs, there is a strong desire to move the limbs, mainly the lower limbs. These abnormal sensations often occur deep in the limbs rather than on the surface, such as the skin.

2. Motor symptoms: The patient cannot fall asleep and keeps moving his limbs to relieve abnormal sensations. The main symptoms are walking back and forth, shaking or flexing and stretching the lower limbs, or tossing and turning in bed.