What Is Restless Legs Syndrome?

Question: What Is Restless Legs Syndrome?

Answer: Restless legs syndrome (RLS) is a sleep disorder that causes involuntary muscle movement in the legs, usually at night. Restless legs syndrome is most common in older adults. Women are especially susceptible to RLS during or after menopause. This urge to move your legs often makes getting a good night's sleep difficult, if not impossible.

Restless legs syndrome causes incredible, almost indescribable, discomfort in the legs during the muscle movement. You may hear restless leg syndrome described as "jumping" legs, "twitching" legs, "crawling" legs, or a number of different terms; however, RLS does have a medical name -- Wittmaack-Ekbom's syndrome.

Be careful not to confuse restless legs syndrome with Ekbom's syndrome. Ekbom's syndrome is a rare condition that causes a delusional belief that a person's body is infested with invisible bugs.

The good news is that there are treatments for restless legs syndrome. Talk to your doctor if you believe that you are experiencing restless legs syndrome.

See: Women and Restless Legs Syndrome

_Sources:

_{What are the signs and symptoms of anemia? NHBLI-NIH. http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/dci/Diseases/ida/ida_signsandsymptoms.html. Accessed 03/31/11.}

_{Ekbom Syndrome: The Challenge Of Invisible Bug Infestations. Nancy C Hinkle. Department of Entomology, University of Georgia. http://www.ent.uga.edu/pubs/hinkle-EkbomSyndrome.pdf. Accessed 03/31/11.}