Restless leg syndrome

Got that creepy crawly feeling? Feel that you just can't sit though the movie in the theatre? Maybe you have restless leg syndrome.

Dr. Jeffrey Lipsitz, director of the Sleep Disorders Centre of Metropolitan Toronto joined Balance Television host Dr. Marla Shapiro to talk about restless leg syndrome and some of the treatments available.

"There are a lot of people who are just twitchy or nervous," Lipsitz said. "But some people actually have a condition that's called restless leg syndrome, where they feel, often when they are sitting or even lying down, that there's some creepy crawly sensation or ants crawling up the backs of their legs. Some people have described it as cold or a hot, burning or searing (sensation), we've heard it all."

It makes you feel like you want to rub your legs or walk around, Lipsitz said, noting that when this happens every time you lay down to go to sleep, it obviously is not conducive to falling asleep or getting a good night's rest. This is why it has come to be viewed as a sleep disorder.

There are a great many people with restless leg syndrome who also have periodic limb movements or twitches.

"They not only have restlessness when they're awake but then when they do fall asleep, their legs (and sometimes arms) are just sometimes twitching in a very subtle and involuntary way -- repeatedly during the night -- which obviously only disturbs their sleep even more profoundly."

This can lead to significant daytime fatigue, making restless leg syndrome a sleep-wake disorder.

So how do you know if you have this condition if it doesn't manifest itself during the day but you're waking up tired?

As always in medicine, Lipsitz said, you have to take a good history by interviewing the individual as well as the bed partner (if applicable) and determining if there is in fact a lot of twitching and movement happening. Also, it's important to find out if there's anything else -- such as snoring --going on during the night that can be contributing to poor sleep.

For the twitching that occurs during sleep, a muscle relaxant is one of the more successful treatments used. It will either cause the muscles to stop twitching or let you sleep through it. This is fine as long as the medication is not so long acting that it causes grogginess the next day.

Daytime restlessness has been far more difficult to treat, Lipsitz said.

"One of the latest treatments is using drugs that were previously used for Parkinson's disease," he said. "And they seem to be successful in a certain percentage of the population."

There are several new drugs -- also related to treating Parkinson's -- that have also showed some promise in treating restless leg syndrome.

Lipsitz did note that there is no known connection between Parkinson's disease and restless leg syndrome.