RLS is the acronym for Restless Leg Syndrome which is a common nervous disorder. The patients suffering from RLS are subject to a perennial compulsion to move their legs continuously to ameliorate an uncomfortable feeling within the limbs which might vary from a tickling sensation to actual pain. This can get aggravated while relaxing as well and can also hamper one’s sleep on a regular basis.
Although this disorder is more common in the limbs, it can affect the head and the torso as well. Thanks to medical science, we now know the proper diagnosis of RLS including the causes and the treatment. But there are some little known facts about the disorder that can actually surprise you. The knowledge of these facts can help you identify the early symptoms and the probable reasons of this disease, leading to a proper diagnosis.

Pregnant women are always at risk from RLS. According medical science, the primary cause of RLS is serious iron-deficiency which is a common occurrence for pregnant women. That is why pregnant women sometimes show symptoms of RLS.

It is common to use medication to check the effects of RLS. But except from iron supplements, other kind of drugs should be avoided as much as possible as these can cause serious side-effects like compulsive drug addictions.

There is no particular age of vulnerability when it comes to RLS as even young adolescents and other individuals have reportedly suffered from it.

Regular exercise of the affected body-part can actually help keep the effect of RLS in check.

Unlike some of the nervous disorders witnessed by medical science, RLS actually runs in the family. In 2007, a research team at the Emroy University in Atlanta, Georgia, USA, discovered a gene in humans that can increase the chances of RLS. In fact 60% or more cases of RLS have been found to occur within families.

Contrary to what some people might fear, RLS has nothing to do with Parkinson’s disease. In fact, Parkinson’s disease does not increase the chances of RLS in any way.

Anti-depressant drugs sometimes cause RLS as side-effects.

The sensations caused by RLS only grow in intensity with the onset of night. The reason for this is dopamine, the sleep hormone which aggravates it and hinders sleep. That is why most patients are troubled with RSL only at night.

Some people believe that RLS patients move their limbs involuntarily. But that is a false perception. Most of the movements by the patients are voluntary.

RLS should not be neglected. If left undiagnosed, it can cause serious health-problems relating to lack of sleep and even high blood-pressure at times.

It is an established fact in medical science that RLS is a syndrome in its own right. But the diagnosis and treatment of RLS is not a tricky process by any means. Mostly caused by iron-deficiencies, it can be controlled by maintaining a healthy level of iron in the body which can be done by ingesting regular prescribed dose of medicated iron supplements.