Last year i got rls syndrome and very bad symptoms, didnt sleep all nights, mostly 2,5 hours interrupted. Totally panicked thinking this would be my life. it was horible. Looked into the medicines but found as a highly sensitive person I probably would get a lot of the side effects so decided not to take them. After about 6 months i found a solution. I knew there had to be a way and i found it. A german therapist called liebscher und bracht, they have videos on youtube, said it has nothing to do with dopamine (which always sounded strange to me, i couldnt believe i had low dopamine levels) but with too tight fascia and too tight surrounding tissue. This sounded very logical to me. So i started a 1 hour a day exercise program with yinyoga to stretch al the tissue in my legs, different yogapostures for 2 minutes for every posture. And a fasciaroller. Combined with walking 1,5 hours a day too. it took me 3 months but i could feel it getting better. After 3 months the rls was almost gone. But i really needed to keep it up, whenever i stopped the yoga for a few days there it was again.
Now, 1 year later, i can say i am cured. But i need to keep up the yogaroutine although i do it now for 30 minutes a day with the walking. And since a few weeks i got a really good massagegun so when i feel my legs tightening up (i can now feel exactly when they get tighter) i use also the massagegun. A good massagegun should be around 100 euro, the cheaper ones do only a vibrating thing but that wont get the muscles flexible.
I know it is a lot of work, the yoga and the walking but laying in bed awake is so much more horrible. And i like now to do the yoga and walking.
Anyway, rls is curable, but you need to put in the work.
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silvia10
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Thanks for the fascinating post ( no pun 😜)I also find that massage and using a hammer type vibrator help.
You mention a massage gun for circa €100 - could you specify the make/ model. I have looked on the internet and find it difficult to choose any particular one.
I bought the amazon.de/s?k=Massage-Pisto.... But maybe the site doesnt let you see it because it is advertisement. But if you look at youtube you got Bob and Brad, 2 physical therapist, and they do videos also on the massage gun and they recommend this one so that is also how you can find it.
I can’t believe you mentioned Bob & Brad. I’m also a big fan! Thanks for the other info. It sounds labor intensive, but any time we can help ourselves without medicine, the better! I may need to revisit my own self treatment soon as my low dose medication isn’t as helpful in recent weeks. This is a good reminder to try other healthy things first, before simply increasing medication. I’m going to check out the German on YouTube! Stretching and yoga are never a bad thing!
I have RLS for over 10 years and need a heating pad in my lower back every night since then otherwise I can't sleep at all. So I have always felt that there is tension in that place. Two nights ago I was lying in bed with RLS again and then suddenly felt something in my lumbar area snap in form of really relaxing and releasing and my legs were immediately calm. Unfortunately it didn't last long and the tension reappeared and my RLS came back. But that is now a lead I am following up on. So your self-healing through yoga is understandable to me and I may do that too.
absolutely yinyoga. that mostly means keeping the posture for 2 minutes so you get a maximum stretch. here are some good postures healthline.com/health/fitne... But always keep them for 2 minutes. And just look up some yogapostures yourself online, it is really fun to know more about it.
Interestingly, I have always felt that there was a connection between my RLS and my spine but have not worked it out yet. I do leg stretching exercises before going to bed and feel that this can help sometimes. The worst thing about my RLS is that it is so unpredictable; sometimes one 'therapy' will work, sometimes it won't.
Thank you so much for this post. I have also come to the conclusion that rls is caused by some misfunction in the legs rather than in the brain. This is not to say that hyperarousal doesn’t exist. It does, and is considerably helped by a low glutamate diet, exercise, and no sugar caffeine or alcohol. But the actual sleep wrecking sensation is grounded in my legs and is only helped by attention and therapy to my legs and feet, such as temperature changes, red light therapy, massage etc. So the idea that there is too tight fascia and too tight surrounding tissue causing the sensation sounds incredibly plausible to me. I’ll give the yoga stretches a go!
I think you make an important point here, although I would still suggest that there is a brain component to this which seems to be supported by the fact that iron therapy works in some cases. However I have personally observed that after intense exercise, the muscles I have worked hard are the “focus” for the restless feelings and one of the things which seems to help is stretching the affected areas as well as movement of the legs so RLS is definitely related to what happens in the legs. Until someone works out the exact mechanisms we are all going to be speculating about what’s happening and why one thing works and another doesn’t but it’s great to keep sharing to build up that common understanding and give others the opportunity to try new treatments.
my opninion is with exercise you mostly contract muscles in the legs and that causes stiffness in the tissue. Stretching it would be better with rls. But ofcourse it is try and see if it works for you. or a massagegun after a workout to get the tissue flexible again.
I find that using a vibrating machine (one you stand on and it vibrates through various frequencies) helps when I cannot sleep. I usually spend about 10 minutes on it and then my muscles and body are quite tired and so I sleep for another hour.
Thanks for the reply. I agree contraction seems to be a major thing here, the harder I contract the worse the RLS and I've been able to keep a reasonably high level of exercise simply by pacing myself., not doing everything at 100% (and incidentally my times and my fitness have both improved!). Stretching helps although it's not 100% fix and I think the nerves in the muscles get excited (there have been other posts about this) which makes them more receptive to RLS feelings. I spoke to someone recently who felt that it's also to do with blood supply and nerves which again makes sense as strong exercise stimulates more capillaries and greater blood flow. Problem is what's happening in detail and why only some people are affected and not everyone which leads me to think there's more than one thing .. a brain (iron?) condition PLUS changes in your muscles? Needs research.
Thank you for your post. I definitely think the tightened muscles contribute alot to the problem. I actually looked back in my history as a child to see if I had hints of RLS precursors before it came on me in my late 20s. I don't know about the rest of you but as a child and now. ..... I could never come close to touching my toes. I couldn't do a split. Symptoms from a young age of having tightness in my legs. Interesting and thankful for your post.
Wow. Hadn’t thought of that before. But now that you mention it, I’ve always had very sensitive feet (I hated if any adult tried to tickle or touch my feet, as a child) and like you, i’ve never been particularly limber. Luckily I can still touch my toes, most days, but it doesn’t come easy. Perhaps yoga could benefit us “tight” folks in multiple ways. My former personal trainer used to say fitness had three prongs: strength, endurance, and flexibility. He believes flexibility is the most important.
and we get tighter in the muscles as we age, because of emotional tensions and lack of stretching. yoga also helps wit stress is my experience. but again the yinyoga, the slow moving form and keeping the postures for 2 minutes to get the maximal stretch).
Oh I goodness, you are one of those with "where there's a will there's a way". I just don't have that kind of will so my way will have to include meds. Good for you though.
This is amazing news Silvia10, thank you so much for sharing, it's already made a difference to me! Although I have been doing (ashtanga) yoga for years, I somehow reduced practice since the pandemic (and also stopped cycling to work) and got really bad RLS a few months ago which was alleviated with more iron supplements. I also tried zinc supplements as well as still having magnesium sprayed on my legs.
However a week ago - whilst on holidays - the symptoms came back really extreme (to the point where I would not be able to sleep for hours) and had expanded from my leg to my thigh which is the first time ever in the 6-7 years I have had RLS. Then I came across your post. As I am still on holidays I can't really do the one hour yoga but I have looked at the videos by Liebscher und Bracht you mentioned and only the last few days I have been doing the stretching exercises and some yinyoga stretches too when I can for about 2 minutes. We are also doing lots of walk during the day. The difference is amazing. I am still having sleep fragmentation waking up twice in the night but usually with a little bit more stretching and massage I go back to sleep within 15-20 minutes max. I have started to recuperate my sleep to something like 6-7hours...
Once back home I'll introduce longer stretches on a daily basis and massaging too as per your post and I'll report back in a few months... Thank you again!!
So happy for you. Ashtanga is great but I think it has more to do with fast yogapostures, if I am right, and the key with rls is long time stretches. Walking is also a great relief, while walking the bouncing in the legs with every step gives a massage to the legs. i try to do my 1,5 hour a day for walking now and it is nice to do also.
So glad it has worked for you. My RLS is worse when I exercise or hike, which is something I love to do. I had to come off Ropinorole and decided to try supplements (I have tried lots of things)Magnesium Citrate and Gentle Iron helps a lot but I might look into this massage gun.Thanks.
Hi Wendy, it might be because of the repetitive nature of your exercises. That hardens the muscles and fascia and can cause rls. Once I biked for a long time and I could feel my muscles getting tighter and it caused me a lot of pain and rl symptoms. So maybe a more gentler routine might do the trick whih focusses more on stretching.
Unfortunately I can't take it at night as this is when I have to take my calcium medication for weak bones, and you can't take iron and calcium close together! Hmm, bones or RLS? Rock and a hard place really!
Nothing adverse. The transdermal iron patch bypasses your intestinal tract so it should make no difference if you put the patch on at the same time as you take calcium.
Thank you so much for this information! I recently read about the benefits of yoga for RLS. My neurologist recommended it too! I have bought a yoga mat and will start doing it! I love to walk but have experienced the muscle tightness and increased symptoms if I walk too much.
Just to say how grateful I am for your post. I have been trying the leg stretches from yin yoga as you recommend and it makes a huge difference. It doesn’t as yet take the rls away all night but the stretching certainly helps relieve the symptoms. I was slightly surprised how painful these stretches are and how stiff my leg muscles are but I’m persevering, just ten minutes of stretches five times a day. Thank you again for this amazing insight into the condition and hope it helps others.
So good to hear. it took me at least 3 months yoga before the symptoms got away. Maybe a good massagegun will speed up the process for you besides the yoga. And stress can also tightens the legmuscles so less stress is also a good idea ,if possible
I tried a yogaposition: deep lunge, yesterday and still can feel tightness in my upperlegs with that so will add that one to my routine. I love finding out more about yoga everyday.
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