Ive just discovered something else that helps RLS. Under the foot is a thick band called the
Plantar Fasciitis and this can be linked to RLS. As a child I had a lot of foot injuries and I have very high arches and I was reading up about it...anyway all the braces and inserts were too exxy so I got about 4 inches of pool noodles and cut lengthwise and then shaped to a slope to fit my foot and wore it in my sandles for a number of hrs a day. I needed to shape it several times to get a good fit that didnt hurt. Long story, short: I havent had RLS for 2 weeks now. Ive also attached some lengths of pool noodles to my bed board. Lying down I push my arches hard up against them, pointing the toes towards the body, stretching the calf muscles. Good luck. This is 100% for me so far...the salt and vinegar treatment worked great for a short time and then gradually lessened in its effectiveness.
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Nannarls
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That helps me too. Only my knees make getting out of the tub difficult so I sit on my shower chair and run hot water up and down my legs with my hand-held shower head. It's always a way for me to feel at least a little better.
Thank you. I had a terrible bout of PF a few years ago and it is not 100% resolved. I still get twinges. Maybe there is a connection. Do u have a footboard on your bed? or do u use a wall to press against with the noodle?
You've presented the first ray of hope I've felt for a while.
I don't have a foot board. I attached them with cable ties to my head board and lay at the other end of the bed pushing hard up against it, while watching a movie and when i'm ready for sleep I go up the right way. It was a random google search that got me to see the connection. Be careful that u don't inflict more pain under your arch...If it hurts, readjust the position or trim the size). it can be a bit hit or miss to get the right shape for your unique foot. Sometimes I use a larger hair band to keep them in place, depending on what shoes I'm wearing. Don't use them all day. A couple of hours at a time should stretch the area enough. I shaped mine myself but maybe a friend can help you if is hard to shape properly... at $2 for a LONG length of pool noodle its cheap enough to have a lot of tries. I even wear them with thongs... not American thongs...I think they call them flip Flops. I hope you find relief. God bless.
Hi Nannaris. Amazing. I have high arches and have had bilateral foot surgery years ago for Morton's Neuromas. Was succesful but maybe left some residual probs that years later is contributing to rls?? Food for thought. In later years I've had foot injections for 'bone spurs'-also succesful but maybe residual scar tissue or something is causing probs now. Feet, I believe, have more to do with rls than maybe we realize. I will try the noodles. Couldn't hurt. Thanks. Take care. irina1975
thnx Irina1975. I googled Morton's Neuromas and u have my deepest sympathies. As a child I had 2 nails thru both my feet , forced to wear shoes too small and what now sounds like your Morton's Neuromas (without the surgery) as a teenager wearing ridiculous cork flatform shoes in my first job. Later in life 2 foot spurs that miraculously disappeared after about a year of agony and breaking a toe that was forced back into my foot... In all this I never considered that RLS could have anything to do with the feet. I guess sleep deprivation doesn't allow the brain to function as clearly as it ought. I do wish u and all our fellow sufferers success in our quest against RLS.
I have a neuroma and feel sure that it plays havoc with my right leg, when it comes to RLS. I had Googled Morton's Neuroma and found that a woman with several neuromas had them removed and her restless leg symptoms went away. I really want to have the neuroma removed, as it also causes a lot of pain in the front of my foot and in my toes. Do you recommend the surgery, even though you have residual problems?
Hi Nannaris. I forgot to add that my generation spent years wearing horrible shoes when we were young; those pointy-toed high-heeled spike shoes. They looked great but one has to wonder what damage we have permanently done to the nerves in our feet. Is is now coming back to haunt us as part of rls? Hindsight is 20/20/ Just a thought to treat our feet as well as we can now. Take care. irina1975
For your information, Plantar Fasciitis is the condition, not the name of the thing it affects. My daughter has been diagnosed with it (privately) after months of treatment by the NHS for a sprain, following running in shoes with inadequate cushioning.
thnx for the correction Eryl... what ever it is called and whatever the condition affects, I think most ppl get the general idea. Im not a Doctor and I copy and paste willy-Nilly sometimes. My apologies. Im almost 60 and figure Im doing pretty good with the computer and my googling efforts. Irina1975: I did hear as a child to look after our feet but that teenage compulsion to fit in causes us to make some dreadful (shoe) fashion mistakes that we do indeed pay for as we get older. Also re: feet. I had glandular fever as a child and was put to bed rest for ages. My feet were always cold and I asked my siblings to throw anything over me (in bed) to make me warm. The weight of the blankets made my feet point fwd (away from the body) for months. There was very little stretch of those calf muscles the other way so maybe the beginning of the shrinkage of the PLANTAR FASCIA began there. I do remember I couldnt walk properly when I was allowed to get up. There are so many things that affect our bodies. Personally I think RLS is a combination of many things and the uniqueness of our differing bodies and lifestyles. I wish u well.
Thank you so much. My husband will help me with both; 1 for the bed and 1 for the sandals. I think you made a form of arch support for your sandals very interesting.
I have PF as well as high arches. I purchased Dasco inserts for my shoes around £6 per pair. They are plastic with a thin leather coating. They support the arch of your foot without bulking out your shoes. They fit into the rear half of your shoe. They seem to push your feet back up on to the base of your heel preventing overpronation as well.
I’ve got four pairs of them and just leave them in my shoes. I’ve taken two photos of them but not sure how to upload them.
Well I’ve got flat feet and have had RLS since birth! Mind you, I have had an operation for Morton’s Neuroma (think I’ve got the name right) when I was 30. Had glandular fever when I was 16. I’m currently convalescing from tarsometatarsal bone surgery in the same foot.
I think it’s all too easy to start trying to connect random things to RLS. If we’re old enough we’ll all have gone through various things
Anyway, as I said I was born with it so those things came later and weren’t a trigger.
Just an update. My homemade inserts were working well at 100% since I first tried them but I had 3 nights leading up to a bad weather event and the RLS kicked in again. After the rain began the RLS settled down. When my RLS manifests it is mostly in my thigh muscles, the right thigh is usually worse... squeezing the muscle tightly gives a temporary relief but I cant do that all night so for me there's a lot going on that affects the condition. PF, exercise, humidity, heat on legs and late night sugars. As I figure out more, I'll update but the main thing to remember is that we all have different body's, different medical histories and different lifestyles. Be open to read and listen and see what works for us as individuals. Ive had the RLS torment like worms crawling inside the legs since early childhood, before my injuries and illnesses, longer than 50 years now as I cant remember a time without it as a child so there is definitely more going on. Also most of my 6 siblings have varying degrees of the condition. Maybe there's a hereditary pre-disposition. We were emotionally and physically abused from a young age so maybe that hyper alertness causes a tightening of the muscles in some sort of left over fight or flight response... who knows. Im only trying to help where I can. God Bless. I hope you all find a cure or remedy.
Your RLS symptoms sound just like mine. I even used to use the squeezing thighs technique you talk about. While the sensations do return again as soon as you stop, and doing it is hard work, it used to save me having to get up and walk around all night like some people do.
I think you’re right that there’s an ‘emotional’ element, because stress is definitely a trigger, as is simply thinking about RLS.
It’s a horrible and complex condition that affects so many people in different ways, and if anyone finds something that helps them, then that has to be all to the good.
RLS? Sounds more to me like you’ve been suffering from cramp, not the neurological disorder related to dopamine levels in the brain which is RLS, but glad you’ve found something that works for you.
Ive been away from this site for a while (the RLS settles a bit over winter) so Im not sure who is talking to who on this thread so im sorry, I dont know if u were responding to me or someone else. Ive had leg cramps before and what I feel are NOT cramps. Im lucky I guess in that I dont have the pain or electricity shooting through the legs like some people describe. I have what feels like worms crawling through my thighs, my right thigh is usually worse. There is no way, I can keep still, the kicking and twitching is involuntary. I have been in tears and at times felt like I wanted to stick a knife in my legs to stop the crawling. I have been sleep deprived since I was about 10 years old. My parents said it was just growing pains and my sibling in the top bunk often complained of my wriggling all night. I feel somewhat offended that I could be so easily dismissed with 'its only cramps' My God! Ive wanted to die so many times during my life because of this condition. Not only does it cause insomnia but then Depression and all types of anxieties. I did up a daily PDF with everything I could think of listed, to find the triggers. My personal triggers were: even a small amount of sugar before bed, Going to town or having visitors, an unpleasant phone call or exchange leading to anxiety. Heat in particular is a trigger and as we are now in summer here is Australia the RLS is back. At times I've found things that have worked but every single success only lasts for a short time. I've got a back injury but if I can get on to my tummy with my feet dangling off the bed, the pressure on the thighs settles the crawling for a short time. Having read a lot of posts, I've found that everyone has a different story with different triggers and different partial remedies. We are here to help one another and maybe one day a cure for all of us can be found. The last thing we need is for any of us to be attacked or dismissed over a minor issue.
Really sorry if you felt I was being dismissive, just the way you described your symptoms in your earlier post sounded more like cramp, and there are a lot of people out there who confuse the two, and coming out with things like “put a bar of soap under the mattress and everything will be alright” etc etc. Obviously you’re not one of those.
From your description above you’re definitely suffering from RLS. It’s a horrible condition, as you will already know. I wish there was more help out there and doctors took the condition more seriously.
I went through PF pain a couple of years ago. I followed the advice of a podiatrist and the pain in my feet is gone. All I did was buy an expensive pair of shoes with arch supports. I've been almost 2 years with no pain in my feet which is great but the RLS is still annoying me everyday. It has not changed at all
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i cut the bed noodles lengthwise. They might roll a bit if u leave them cylindrical.
RLS linked to a potassium deficiency. I found an electrolyte supplement and my RLS is history! 
