My mother suffers with a "jittery" feeling in her legs, especially at night. She is 66 and a diabetic. What is causing this?
Conventional remedy: Your mother may be suffering from a condition known as "restless leg syndrome". This is a common disorder characterised by a need to move because of unpleasant creeping sensations that occur deep within the legs. It tends to happen when the muscles are relaxed and therefore causes problems when settling down to sleep at night. Periodic leg movements may also occur during sleep disturbing the night's rest. Often this causes the sufferer to have bouts of insomnia as well.
Restless leg syndrome can occur at any age but is more common in older women. There appears to be a family history of restless leg syndrome in about a third of all cases. Sitting immobile for long periods appears to make the condition worse. The cause of this syndrome is unknown but occurs more commonly in pregnancy and can be associated with other conditions such as diabetes, kidney failure, anaemia and rheumatoid arthritis.
Anyone suffering from this condition should arrange a check-up with their family doctor to rule out any other cause. Although no specific treatment is yet available, symptoms may improve if a co-existing anaemia is found and treated with iron/folic acid/ Vitamin B 12 supplements. In your mother's case, as she suffers from diabetes, this is the most probable cause of her leg symptoms. She should mention it to her GP specialist on her next visit to confirm the diagnosis.
Some sufferers find that a good sleep hygiene programme helps in this condition. Avoiding caffeine in the evenings, having a warm bath and hot milky drink before bedtime and going to bed at the same time helps establish a better pattern when sleep has been disturbed by restless leg syndrome.
Dr Muiris Houston
Alternative remedy: Restless leg syndrome is a nervous system disorder affecting the legs that can lead to sleep deprivation. Patients with RLS experience unpleasant symptoms in the legs.
Symptoms may include sudden jerking motion of the legs, a feeling of crawling/tingling deep beneath the skin, aching/cramping of the leg muscles, (particularly the calf), and "pins and needles". One or both legs may be involved. RLS most often occurs at night, therefore disrupting a night's sleep. A change of position or getting-up and walking offers only transient relief.
Approximately 10 to 15 per cent of adults are affected by RLS. It is believed to be hereditary, and to be associated with pregnancy (particularly the last trimester), diabetes, kidney disease, iron deficiency anaemia, hypothyroidism and often vitamin and mineral deficiency.
In Chinese medicine, RLS can occur following the invasion of external pathogenic factors such as wind or heat, which can cause jittery movements and heat sensations in the limbs. This can happen after an infection in the body. A Yin deficiency may then develop if the external pathogens are not treated.
This is usually due to prolonged heat in the body which consumes bodily fluids. Night-time is the part of the 24hour cycle in which Yin pathologies are most evident, hence the propensity for this problem to occur more commonly at night.
Acupuncture treatment would aim to expel any external pathogenic factors present, and balance the Yin energies of the body. This can be extremely effective in the treatment of RLS.
Other factors that may offer relief are regular exercise, reduction or avoidance of caffeine and alcohol, and nutritional supplements. In the US, high levels of vitamin E were administered to patients suffering from RLS, obtaining promising results within eight weeks.
Emer O' Donnell, RGN.Lic.Ac.C.Ac.(China). MAFI. Member of the Acupuncture Foundation of Ireland. Tel: 01-8574040.
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