Restless leg syndrome

That creepy crawly pain in your legs could be a sleeping disorder called restless leg syndrome.

Dr. David Larsen examines Deanna Graves.

“It’s one of the most underdiagnosed problems in medicine,” says Dr. David Larsen, a family practice physician at Northside Medical Clinic. “Restless leg syndrome is simple to diagnose, it’s just not generally considered. When people come in complaining about leg and feet pain, we start looking for pain problems, not sleeping problems.”

Restless leg syndrome is a movement disorder of sleep with legs jerking and twitching at night, says Dr. Larsen. The twitching movements are similar to that found in Parkinson’s disease, he explains. Patients complain of unpleasant sensations in the legs, often during the night or before bedtime, which are relieved by walking around.

Does mom, granddad have same problem?
“This disorder is much more frequent than people realize,” says Dr. Larsen, a graduate of UT Family Practice who has been practicing medicine for more than 22 years. “Every week, I see one to two people with restless leg syndrome.”

Though it often isn’t considered at first by the physician, the possibility of the patient having restless leg syndrome emerges as the physician asks questions, Dr. Larsen says. “Does the patient’s bed partner complain of too much movement? How do the sheets look in the morning? Does mom or granddad have the same problem?”

About 85 percent of people with restless leg syndrome have difficulty falling asleep or wake up often during the night. “In worst cases,” says Dr. Larsen, “the syndrome causes enough sleep deprivation that the patient has chronic daytime fatigue, which can interfere with a patient’s ability to work and, certainly, cause danger while driving.”

Cause is uncertain
No known cause has been found for the syndrome, but recent research has focused on central nervous system abnormalities and iron deficiency. It also has been genetically linked. It can be triggered and seen with chronic renal failure, diabetes, iron-deficiency anemia and pregnancy.

Increasing iron levels through diet or supplements resolves the problem with some people. For others, Dr. Larsen treats restless leg syndrome as a chronic condition with the same drugs used to treat Parkinson’s disease. Pain medications are given as the last resort.

Restless leg syndrome can start in childhood (it is a common cause of growing pains), but most people don’t know they have it until they are in their 30s when it starts to interrupt life somewhat or when a bed partner starts to complain about too much movement, Dr. Larsen says.

Misery while traveling
“This is a very common problem,” he adds. “People can’t sleep. They’re tired. Their legs hurt. They even are miserable watching movies and traveling long distances because they have no room to move their legs.”