Restless legs

Description: Involuntary jerking, mainly of the legs, especially in the evening and at night.

Important note: Can be linked to underlying health conditions, so if you are worried see your GP.

Tips

Bar of soap

This is something that runs in my family, so there is no escape. I got it when I was pregnant, but now it’s come back much worse in middle age.  The worst bit is the way it stops me sleeping (and stops my partner sleeping!).  There’s an old wives’ tale that says that you should place a new bar of soap between your bed sheets to cure restless legs.  The idea is that soap can contain essential oils that are vasodilators, which may make the blood vessels in your legs enlarge and reduce the cramps.  I’ve tried it out and it really does seem to work.  After a few nights, you need to scratch the bar of soap a bit to freshen it up (it seems to stop working as the soap dries out).  On a really bad night, I hold the soap between my legs.

Probiotic Yoghurt

Another downer about restless legs is the fact that eating and drinking to excess makes it worse (goodbye carefree celebrations).  I’ve not found any link with the amount of exercise I do, but eating probiotic yoghurt does seem to make it slightly better.  And trying not to overeat in one sitting generally.

Keep hydrated

If I don’t drink plenty of water then my restless legs are ten times worse than usual. I’ve tried adding cranberry juice as well. Not particularly convinced that it makes a massive difference, but I quite like cranberry juice, so it isn’t a chore.

Diet

I suffered from restless legs when I was pregnant, and was told to try eating bananas.  The idea is that muscle cramps can be caused by a deficiency in potassium, and bananas are high in potassium.  It didn’t work for me, but it might work for you if your restless legs are caused by a lack of potassium.

Magnesium is another mineral that may help protect against restless legs.  Magnesium is found in dark chocolate, kidney beans, avocados and oats.  I have tested this by eating large amounts of chocolate, but found no improvement in my restless legs.

Iron is also said to help improve restless legs.  Foods high in iron include red meat and green leafy vegetables, sourdough bread, breakfast cereals fortified with iron and pulses like peas, beans and lentils.  Remember that it can be hard to absorb the iron in many foods, so try these ideas:

• Try eating or drinking something high in vitamin C at the same time as you eat food high in iron, as the vitamin C helps your body to absorb the iron.  How about drinking some orange juice with your morning cereal?
• Probiotics also help to absorb iron, so that’s another good reason to add a probiotic yoghurt to your morning breakfast.
• Also, avoid caffeine when eating foods high in iron.  So wait for at least 30 minutes after your morning cereal before you have a cup of coffee.
• Eating raw green leafy vegetables is better than cooked ones, as they lose vitamin C whilst being cooked.  So choose coleslaw or other raw cabbage salads.
• The exception to this is spinach, where the iron is better absorbed when cooked, so try spinach curry for tea.

Horse Chestnut cream

Horse chestnut cream is supposed to be good for all sorts of circulation problems including varicose veins and restless legs.  I used Viridian Organic Horse Chestnut Balm – just rub it into your legs in the evening or before bed.  It didn’t seem to work for me, but I didn’t try it for very long.  Maybe you need to be more persistent.

Stretching

I have never found that exercise makes the smallest difference to restless legs, but stretching really helps me.  I have found stretches that focus on the front of the thigh to be the most effective.  Try pulling your foot up to the back of your bottom, trying to keep your knees as close together as possible.  Or go a step further and try a yoga ballerina pose (see picture above).  Unlike in the picture, have a chair nearby to hold onto for balance, then pull your foot up to the back of your bottom as before.  Slowly lean forwards, holding onto the chair with one hand, and onto your foot with the other.  As you do try to pull your foot up towards the ceiling.  Try not to fall over.  Or, maybe just join a yoga class and learn to do it properly…

Loosen your fascia

Your fascia is another name for the connective tissue that runs through your body, surrounding your muscles, organs and skin.  Doing exercises to loosen your fascia can help to reduce the spasms associated with restless legs.  Try the following (it can help to hold onto something to keep your balance):

• rotate your feet 5 times clockwise and 5 times anti-clockwise, to loosen your ankles
• rotate your lower legs 5 times in each direction, to loosen your knees
• rotate your upper legs 5 times in each direction, to loosen your hips

In each case, try to make the movements as wide as possible.  if you like, you can keep on working up your body, rotating your hips, your upper body, your hands and arms, and generally wiggling all over with large, fluid movements to loosen your whole body.

Tonic water

Try drinking a glass of tonic water before bed, as the quinine may help to reduce cramps.  Just don’t add any gin, as that may remove any benefit, sadly.