Hey guys you're probably here because you want to know all about restless leg syndrome well
you found the right video because in this week's video we're going to look at restless leg syndrome
we're going to look at the causes the signs and symptoms lifestyle advice and tips on treatment
and when to seek medical attention for restless leg syndrome so what we're waiting for let's
begin okay so let's begin with the basics what is restless leg syndrome in case you don't know it's
quite a common condition that affects our nervous system it's also quite common in the population
affecting about two percent of the population and it typically causes an overwhelming urge to move
your legs and a really uncomfortable sensation in your legs but this uncomfortable sensation
can also be affected in the arms in the chest and even in the face now the thing about
restless leg syndrome is it's very difficult to describe the feeling and the symptoms that
you get from it the sensation really because it affects everyone slightly differently so
i'm now going to go through a few of the different sensations that people feel
see if these things match yourself so probably the most common sensation people discuss is a tingling
itching burning throbbing type of sensation but the other things that people mention when
you speak to them about restlessness syndrome is a creepy crawly type feeling or even like
a fizzy water type of feeling in the legs and sometimes people describe it as a cramping type
of feeling within the legs so these unpleasant sensations can really range from patient to
patient some people might find them mild some people might find them unbearable however usually
towards the later part of the day so towards the night time towards the evening the sensations do
get worse now like i said it really does depend on the individual some people get these symptoms
all the time some people get them occasionally so it's a it's a really tricky one restless leg
syndrome because like i said everyone experiences it slightly differently now some people with
restless leg syndrome may find it difficult to sit for long periods of time for example on a
train journey now more than 80 percent of people with restless leg syndrome also have periodic limb
movements in sleep we call this plms for short now if you do have plms your legs will jerk or twitch
uncomfortably usually at night time when you sleep now these movements are short and repetitive
usually happening every 20 to 40 seconds and it can be so severe that they actually wake you up
at night time you can also get these movements during the day and whilst you're resting as well
now before we look at treatments and lifestyle advice for restless leg syndrome let's quickly
look at the causes as well because this is really important that we have a full understanding and
it's really going to help us when we get to that section as well so the two main causes of restless
leg syndrome what we call primary and secondary causes now primary restless leg syndrome is where
there is no identifiable cause it usually happens in younger individuals it starts at a younger age
really and usually most of these patients have a family member someone who also has restless leg
syndrome two-thirds of the cases usually have a family member with restless leg syndrome and
secondary restless leg syndrome is where there is an identifiable cause which is causing the
restless leg syndrome so there's an underlying condition which is causing it which is why the
treatment is aimed at treating the underlying condition which is then going to help with the
restless leg syndrome now with secondary restless leg syndrome there are many different causes
that could be potentially causing the restless leg syndrome this is why it's super important
that if you have any restless leg syndromes if you've googled about restless leg syndrome
and it matches you or if you're having any of these symptoms that we spoke about today you need
to speak to your healthcare professional first so they can examine you so they can investigate they
can do all the tests to find out exactly what is going on that is the most important thing
so if you spoke to your doctor if you spoke to a healthcare professional and you've been diagnosed
with restless leg syndrome and everything's okay there's no underlying cause there any
other problems then that's fine we can now move on to the tips but if you haven't spoke to them
please speak to them first and then by all means if everything's okay please then continue with
these lifestyle tips that we're gonna go through with now okay so let's begin with tip number one
probably one of the best things that you can do one of the easiest things that you can do
is avoiding stimulants especially in the evening this includes things like tea coffee energy
drinks anything that contains caffeine really that's going to stimulate your nervous system
it's going to stimulate the brain it's going to stimulate them neurons which is going to increase
the activity and increase the movement especially at night time when you're sleeping which is then
going to make your restless leg syndrome worse so you need to avoid these especially in the evening
but if you can try and avoid them entirely or just try and reduce your consumption of them
as well i will leave a link in the description below which is a caffeine calculator and you
can pop how many drinks of tea you have how many drinks of coffee you have and it will tell you the
recommended amount so you can always check as well if you are within that range as well let's move on
to the next tip okay so moving on to tip number two this is another easy one and it's all about
exercise look if you have restless leg syndrome we know research has shown that exercise helps it
so you need to try and exercise regularly three times a week if you can normal intensity exercise
we don't want high intensity impact exercise that's probably gonna make things a little worse
just normal intensity exercise if you want some of these exercises i'm gonna leave all of them in
the description below for you as well so you can read up about them and see which one suits you
one of the more important things though to mention about exercise is one make sure you're not doing
it just before bedtime because that can actually have an opposite effect for restless leg syndrome
and also make sure you stretch stretching is super duper important again if you're not stretching
before and after you exercise it might actually have the opposite effect that we want so one
make sure you're exercising three times a week make sure it's just normal moderate
intensity exercise and also make sure that you're stretching this is super duper important and it
has been shown to be super effective for restless leg syndrome moving on to tip number three it's
all about sleep and getting the right amount of sleep you need to be sleeping at a regular time
getting at least eight hours of good quality sleep per night this is super important
because if you're not getting enough sleep it's going to make your restless leg syndrome worse
if you're someone who struggles to get to sleep if you're someone who wants more information
on good quality sleep i have made videos on these topics before looking at different options that
are going to help you go to sleep and get better quality sleep so you're rested and fully full of
energy when you wake up sleep is super important not just for that restless leg syndrome but for a
variety of other things as well and it can also reduce your risk of having anxiety depression
obesity sleep is something that's so underrated and unfortunately a lot of people aren't giving
sleep enough time anymore they're not getting that adequate amount of eight hours of good quality
sleep per night so if you want more information on it please do check out my other videos on it but
if someone already gets eight hours of sleep then fantastic let's move on to the next tip okay so
let's move on to tip number four let's say that you're having an episode of breast leg syndrome
it's very painful the area what should you do what are the best things to do well the first
thing you need to do is just give it a light gentle massage okay or if you can't do that
ask your significant other or your partner or your friend or someone to just give it a light
quick massage another thing that you can then move on to doing is either a hot or a cold compress
we'll start off with a cold compress very simple you don't need to buy anything just go to your
freezer get a pack of frozen vegetables wrap it in a tea towel and place it on the area where the
paintings don't what any of the sensations are for a warm compress you can get a wheat bag heat it up
and place it on the area so whichever one you feel works better for you now another question
that you're probably gonna ask as well for how long should i do it how often should i do it
both of them can be left on the area for about 10 minutes and then i would advise you to do it a
few times a day if it's needed there's no harm in doing it more than a few times a day but just make
sure you're wrapping that cold compress in a tea towel you don't want to be pointed directly on the
skin as it can cause damage to the skin another useful tip is doing activities that help distract
your mind such as reading or watching television or relaxation exercises such as yoga walking
stretching and in the evening having a nice hot shower or bath to help relax those muscles moving
on to tip number five look if you're someone who smokes at the moment you really need to
quit if you have restless leg syndrome smoking has been shown to make things worse smoking
is gonna affect the sleep it's gonna make the restless leg syndrome worse and it's gonna make
all those painful sensations worse so you really need to try and quit i know it's easier said than
done but in the past i have a video on how to quit smoking it's got some really really useful advice
on it if you want more information i am going to leave a link to it up here and in the description
below but just think of the benefits we know that smoking makes restless leg syndrome worse
and we know that smoking has many many different problems that are associated with it such as heart
disease such as cancers it can even make you older you know it can make you look older so by quitting
you will hopefully stay nice and young as well so there's so many benefits in quitting smoking
this is probably the single best thing that anyone can do in their lives to do smoke
so if you want more information please feel free to watch that video as well and moving on to tip
number six this tip is all about medication look there are certain medicines that can actually make
restless leg syndrome symptoms worse so this doesn't mean if you are prescribed medication
stop taking your medication and it's going to make things better i am not saying that one bit
however if you are taking a few medicines and you have restless leg syndrome
do speak to your pharmacist or your doctor or your nurse about them and discussed that could any of
these medicines potentially be making my restless leg syndrome worse there are quite a few medicines
that can be doing this so please just take the time to speak to your healthcare professional to
find out so they can actually check it for you you know they might actually do not be aware that you
have restless leg syndrome and they're not aware that obviously these medicines would be making it
worse so let them know that you have restless leg syndrome and ask them to just quickly check your
medicines list to make sure that and if any of them are making the symptoms worse and if they are
then they can discuss and look into treatment options of potentially switching it or trying
an alternative medicine or anything like that but please please please do not stop your medicines
before speaking to any healthcare professional and most likely they won't be making things
worse but still just double check it with them so that's our lifestyle tips done please remember
if any of these tips don't help you or if you're concerned at all about the frequency and severity
of the episodes of restless leg syndrome that you're having please speak to your healthcare
professional please don't leave it speak to them and let them review you to see what's going on and
please do not for one second think that restless leg syndrome is not taken seriously by your
healthcare professional look i speak to patients all the time of restless life syndrome we really
do prioritize them because restless leg syndrome can cause so many other symptoms and problems that
can be associated with it for example it can make you feel drowsy it can affect your sleep it can
even cause depression and anxiety look so you need to speak to a healthcare professional if
these symptoms are causing you a lot of problems if they're affecting your sleep if they're making
you drowsy if it's affecting your mood if you just feel like you need to speak to someone
just pick up the phone ring your doctor surgery and make an appointment to speak to someone
nobody is not going to take you seriously everyone will take you seriously and they want to look out
for your health because that is the most important thing there are also quite a few charities now set
up for restless leg syndrome if you want more information on them i will leave a link to them
in the description below on a few that i find they're really really helpful especially for
giving that support to patients with restless leg syndrome they have a good forum as well and it can
put you in touch in groups with other patients who have restless leg syndrome so you can learn from
each other as well i think it's super helpful to have that there as well so if you are interested
in finding out more please just check out that description so that's the end of this week's
video you now know all about restless leg syndrome you know about the causes the signs and symptoms
you know about what other people experience you know about the tips and treatments you're now
a bit of a restless leg syndrome pro so tell your friends tell your family tell your loved ones tell
everyone and if you have any of your own tips as well please do leave a comment down there as well
because i'd love to read it and i'm sure everyone else watching this video would love to read it too
that's the end of this week's video always remember that you're awesome and i will see you
next week hey guys thanks for watching this week's video make sure to click
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