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You know how just when you thought you’d dealt with every possible symptom of fibromyalgia it seems to have one more to throw at you? And you know how it’s usually something you would never have thought would go with fibromyalgia? Well here’s another symptom to add to that list: restless leg syndrome (RLS).
Restless leg syndrome actually affects a large percentage of people with fibromyalgia, making it just one more of the many headaches that sufferers have to deal with. But what gives? What exactly causes RLS? And why do restless leg syndrome and fibromyalgia occur together so often?
What Is Restless Leg Syndrome?
Restless leg syndrome is basically a condition that makes it hard to keep your legs still. People who have RLS often experience sudden jerks in their legs that they can’t control or an uncomfortable feeling in their legs that makes them feel like they have to move. That feeling usually takes the form of a pins-and-needles sensation or a tingling in the limbs.
Now this symptom by itself would be difficult to deal with during the day, but the real problem comes when people with RLS try to go to bed. You see, that urge to move your legs doesn’t end just because you need to sleep, and as a result, people with RLS have an extremely hard time getting a decent night’s rest.
And that chronic sleep deprivation can actually be very dangerous for your health. People who fail to get enough sleep over a long period of time are at a higher risk for many serious health conditions like diabetes, high blood pressure, a weakened immune system, and heart disease among other conditions. And that makes RLS a very serious condition to suffer from.
How Are Restless Leg Syndrome And Fibromyalgia Related?
Unfortunately, while we know that RLS and fibromyalgia are linked, we don’t know how. But the best theory right now is that both conditions have something to do with the brain sends messages along the nervous system. The nervous system runs all over the body, constantly relaying information to and from your brain. Some of these signals, like lifting your arm for instance, you can control. Others, like the beating of your heart, are done automatically. And most importantly when it comes to fibromyalgia, these nerves register the sensation of pain.
But sometimes these signals can get scrambled in a sense, and your brain begins to feel pain without any obvious cause. This may be what’s behind RLS: overactive nerve signals. And it may also play some role in fibromyalgia symptoms, which would explain why over 60% of people with fibromyalgia also have RLS.
This is just speculation at the moment. We don’t know for sure what causes fibromyalgia or RLS, and until we do, we can really only guess at why there’s such an obvious link between these two conditions. But the theory of faulty nerve signals seems to provide a good explanation.
But regardless of why there is this connection, the fact remains that there clearly is one and that’s bad news for people with fibromyalgia. In addition to all the symptoms of fibromyalgia that make it hard to get enough sleep, many fibro sufferers have to deal with RLS as well. And obviously, that makes getting enough sleep and incredibly difficult proposition. And the lack of sleep also makes their other symptoms, like the mental fog that often comes with fibromyalgia, much worse.
Treating RLS
So what can you do if you have fibromyalgia and restless leg syndrome? Well, there’s no 100% effective treatment for either condition, but there are a few simple tweaks you can make to your routine that should help make mild RLS symptoms a little bit more manageable.
For starters, make sure that you practice the best sleep habits that you can. Avoid all caffeine near bedtime. Caffeine is a stimulant and will make your RLS worse. Secondly, avoid smoking, which in addition to all the known health risks, is a powerful stimulant as well and seriously interferes with your sleeping patterns.
Finally, try to get as much exercise as you can during the day. Obviously, this is very difficult when you’re dealing with fibromyalgia. Exercise can set off debilitating flare-ups, so be careful not to overdo it. But you don’t have to run marathons, just try to get in a bit of walking when and if you can. Even a little bit of exercise is better than nothing when it comes to RLS.
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