One of the common ailments troubling us
includes leg pains. Now there may be a lot of
reasons that may be causing leg pains but we
are going to talk about the most common of
these i.e. Restless Leg Syndrome or RLS as it
is commonly known. This is basically a
neurological disorder in which one feels a
strong urge to move their limbs in order to
avoid unpleasant sensations and feelings. By
such movement, the unpleasant sensations are
forgotten for a while and a temporary
relaxation is experienced. However if the
movement is not allowed, the feelings keep
gathering force and make a person more and
more uncomfortable.

RLS is characterized by either itching or
tickling kind of sensations. There are other
sensations such as creeping, aching, burning
etc. which are also associated with this
problem. These are persistent feelings which
result in restlessness prompting a person to
cause some movement. Even after the movement,
the need to move may return almost immediately
or at a later stage. The sensations generally
set in when a person is in a relaxed state
such as while reading, studying, watching TV
etc. This problem is not only physically
bothersome but can also be emotionally
draining. Most individuals suffering from RLS
experience the moving or jerking of their legs
in sleep This is the most noticeable
objective indicator of the disorder which can
keep a person awake in night and as such
results in loss of precious sleep. As proper
sleep is absolutely essential to good quality
of life, such disruptions hamper the behavior
and attitude of the person affected, making
them more irritated and cranky.

The research being done in this field shows
that the main cause of this problem is
heredity. It has also been revealed through
the studies that the problem becomes more
common with age and thus has a bigger ratio of
prevalence in the older people. The symptoms
are found to be more pronounced in the
evenings and also when a person has been
seated for long periods of time. The other
major aggravating factor to this problem is
stress. Although it may be possible that some
or all of the possible causes may be present
in the patient but it is very difficult to
pinpoint the exact cause of the problem. The
relief is often available in some sort of
prescription drugs but they also carry the
risk of side effects besides being addictive
in nature.