What Are The  Restless Leg Syndrome Symptoms?

Restless leg syndrome is also known as Ekbom syndrome. Named after Dr Ekbom who characterized RLS as a creeping or crawling sensation in the legs over which you have no control, accompanied by an irresistible urge to move your legs. The symptoms generally appear when the suffer is at rest especially in the evenings or night time  The feeling has been given numerous descriptions by sufferers ranging from actual pain to burning or itching or even things crawling inside their legs. If you are a sufferer you will already know just how hard it is to describe the feelings.

The feelings in your legs can make it almost impossible for you to rest or sleep.  Lack of sleep aggravates the symptoms creating  a vicious circle of restless leg and fatigue. In severe cases the lack of sleep can make it impossible for the sufferer to perform normally during the day and can bring about all the side effects of sleep deprivation.

About 10 percent of the population is affected by this disorder. Anyone can get restless leg syndrome but it more commonly begins in middle age. Although many people are life long sufferers from early teens or even early school age. In many of these cases there appears to be a hereditary factor. Some other well know triggers are hormonal changes, diabetes, stress, and pregnancy. In the case of the later two the cessation of the cause (I.e. de-stressing or giving birth) will stop RLS symptoms immediately.

The symptoms of restless leg can be aggravated by drinking alcohol and by smoking. Some medications like antihistamines are also known cause or aggravate the restless leg syndrome symptoms.

When the symptoms start you just cannot keep those legs still.