Restless Legs Syndrome

Restless Legs Syndrome

The National Institutes of Health website states that Restless Legs Syndrome (RLS) “is a neurological disorder characterized by unpleasant sensations in the legs and an uncontrollable urge to move them for relief. Individuals affected with the disorder describe the sensations as burning, creeping, tugging, or like insects crawling inside the legs. The sensations range in severity from uncomfortable to irritating to painful.”

The Restless Legs Syndrome Foundation web site provides some helpful information and specifically lists 21 FDA-approved drugs that can be used for treating the condition.

I have successfully treated RLS in patients in the last 26 years. Let me tell you what I think causes the condition, and what I believe is effective in its treatment.

Since RLS clearly involves the nerves of the legs, a thoughtful doctor would have to be interested in the assessment of the patient’s low back since the nerves that supply the legs, come from the low back, and can be affected in their function by dysfunction in the low back. Keep in mind, the better-known condition, sciatica, which is a condition that is usually caused by low back dysfunction and results in pain, numbness, tingling, or other sensations in a leg, or occasionally both legs. Appropriate treatment of the low back is usually effective in the treatment of sciatica. In my experience, treating the low back can also be very effective in treating RLS.

Treatment of the low back for relief or cure of RLS may include one or all of the following: daily stretching exercises; daily oral magnesium supplements (I prefer magnesium glycinate or magnesium chloride.); a trial removal of all dairy products from the diet; chiropractic adjustment of the spine; determination of, and removal of food allergens from the diet; resolution of digestive tract issues such as constipation, diarrhea, reflux, irritable bowel syndrome and colitis.

(November 20, 2009) I am looking for one individual who lives in Ventura County who has a moderate to severe case of RLS that has been diagnosed by a medical doctor, and who would like to receive treatment from me for RLS at no charge. This individual would need to have the time for treatment and self-care, would need to be willing to keep a journal of the treatment process, would need to be willing to make dietary changes, and would need to be willing to have the gathered information published (without naming the person).

Who do you know who is suffering with RLS?