Are You Missing This Simple Treatment for Restless Legs?

"Massage may be the most effective and effortless therapy to provide instant relief for restless legs without medications. But many doctors don't know about it," says Dr. John Winkelman, an RLS specialist at Harvard-affiliated Massachusetts General Hospital

Restless Legs Syndrome (RLS) is an ailment that result in an uncontrollable desire or need to move your legs, typically because of a strange, uncomfortable sensation. Usually, it happens in the evening or nighttime hours when you've just sat down or gone to bed. Moving seems to make the strange, unpleasant feeling go away temporarily.

Also known as Willis-Ekbom disease, RLS can start at any age and typically gets worse as you get older. It can interrupt your sleep or keep you from falling asleep, which interferes with daily life.

While medications and lifestyle changes can help with the feeling, there is another fantastic way to help manage the symptoms many people love- massage.

Symptoms

The chief symptom is that urge to move your legs. You’ll also commonly see symptoms of RLS that can include:

After resting, the sensations occur. The sensations usually starts after you've been lying down or sitting for a longer period of time, such as in a car, on an airplane, or when you’re in bed.
If you move your legs, the feeling gets better. The sensation should lessen with movement, including stretching, jiggling/scissoring your legs, pacing, or walking.
At night, the symptoms are worse. Symptoms occur only or predominantly at night.
Leg twitching at night. RLS can be associated with another, a more common condition referred to as periodic limb movement of sleep, which causes your legs to twitch and kick, potentially throughout the night, while you’re asleep.
People often describe RLS symptoms as abnormal, unpleasant feelings in their legs and/or feet. They typically occur on both sides of the body, both right and left legs. Not as often, the sensations could affect the arms.

The sensations, which usually develop within the leg rather than on top of the skin, are described as:

  • Creepy, Crawly
  • Pulling
  • Throbbing/Aching
  • Itching
  • Electric

Occasionally, the sensations are challenging to explain. Those with RLS typically don't equate the symptoms to a muscle cramp or numbness. They do, however, regularly describe the urge to move their legs.

It's common for symptoms to change in severity and occur more or less often. Sometimes, symptoms go away for periods of time, but then they come back.

Should I Go See the Doctor?

Some people with RLS never seek medical attention because they worry they won't be taken seriously. But RLS can interfere with your sleep and cause daytime drowsiness and affect your quality of life. Talk with your doctor if you think you may have RLS.

What are the Causes?

In most cases, there is no known cause for RLS. Studies may indicate that the condition could be the result of an imbalance of the brain chemical dopamine, which sends signals to the brain related to muscle movement.

  1. Heredity. Additionally, in some situations RLS runs in families, particularly if the condition begins prior to the age of 40. Researchers have seen sites on the chromosomes where genes for RLS could be present.
  2. Pregnancy. Pregnancy or hormonal changes can temporarily worsen RLS symptoms. Some pregnant people get RLS for the first time during pregnancy, particularly during their last trimester. However, symptoms typically disappear following delivery.

How Massage Therapy Helps RLS

As a person who deals with restless legs syndrome on about half of my nights, learning that something as wonderful as massage could help me was amazing.

The exact reason why massage aids those with RLS isn’t entirely understood by scientific studies. However, several people have gotten significant relief from their symptoms by receiving leg massages before bed on a regular basis. When used together with other RLS treatments, massage therapy can be a very safe and effective way to assist with the management of your RLS.

  • Improves Circulation.
    One of the apparent reasons massage can be so effective for RLS is that it promotes proper blood and lymphatic circulation. As you may have read in several places on our site, massage assists to move out congested blood and improves the flow of new blood throughout the body. This brings in more oxygen and nutrients that your tissues need to stay healthy. Massage also helps move lymph fluid through the lymphatic system, which cleans it and aids the body in fighting infection.
  • Promotes Relaxation. If you suffer from RLS going to bed can be quite the task. You know that you won’t sleep well because you want to kick your legs so badly and may even have anxiety about losing more sleep, which in turn causes you to lose sleep. That’s when massage can truly help. Massage is known to minimize stress, lessen tension, and increase dopamine release, which is the hormone that could play a role in RLS’s cause. All of these things combined can help you calm your mind and body so that you can rest.

Handheld Mini Massage Gun for Your RLS

Massages have long been known to be beneficial for instant pain relief, but going to a massage therapist to get your knots and soreness released on a daily basis is unrealistic for most.

That’s why massage guns and the percussive therapy they utilize have become wildly popular in recent years. You can enjoy Massage Anytime Anywhere for Full Body Pain or Muscle Soreness. In fact, Massage Gun with vibration therapy has been shown to the Most Effective and Effortless way to deal with RLS symptoms

Why this mini massage gun is Taking America by Storm? Click here to learn more>>

What kind of Massage Gun best for Restless Leg Syndrome?

To help you figure out which massage gun to buy, we asked our experts for some tips on what to look out for.

Wu says to find a device that is actually comfortable to hold. “Ergonomic design so that when you hold it, your arm doesn’t fatigue,” she says. “Weight of the massage gun is important so that you can again hold it against or to an area without straining your other arm.” She also recommends finding one that has multiple attachments so you can use it on different muscle groups all across your body.

Zerio points out that speed is the more big factor to watch out for. “Common specs to pay attention to are the variety of percussion heads provided with the product and the number of speed options,” he says. “More expensive massage guns have up to five speed options, which is really necessary for full body massage.”

Zerio says it’s actually more important to pay attention to depth than speed. Wu explains the difference. “Different speeds will translate to being more gentle and calming versus faster and more stimulating,” she says. “Depth of percussion or amplitude will translate to more of a vibratory versus percussive feeling, which again would be applicable to more superficial areas versus deep areas.”

Taking the Right Precautions With RLS Massage
Massage for restless leg syndrome is safe and effective. No matter if you have mild to severe RLS, your legs can benefit from this relaxation technique and you can enjoy it anytime anywhere with a quality, professional massage gun.

If you have any questions or are interested in purchasing your first massage gun, check out our(click here to explore>>) Best Seller- SoothePro Mini Massage Gun. You can even reach out through email at sales@wsoothepro.com.

We understand that investing in a massage chair is a big decision, and we want to help make that process as simple and stress-free as possible. Our sales representatives are ready and excited to get you into the perfect massage gun


5 comments


  • onlylover

    My RLS is 99% better. I’ve had RLS for about 10 years. To the point where I feel like I will lose my mind if I have to live another 10 years like this. I’m in my 50s. .. and NO I am not suicidal. At any rate. Three weeks ago, I purchased one soothepro mini massage gun they have been advertising a bit online. I have been massaging my legs with this every night and I swear to you it is working. I also have fibromyalgia. I will say that at first there is pain (because my skin often hurts to touch).. but I fight through the pain and just breath and massage my calfs and thighs for about 20 minutes every night. Just to be sure it was not coincidence, I have tried to sleep without the massager and it is impossible. I wanted to share this massage experience with you. I hope this can work for anyone reading this.


  • pardyou

    Saw a friend use the soothepro massage gun a few days ago after badminton. I’d been meaning to get a vibration type kind of massager for restless leg syndrome, but I never thought of a massage gun. I had one of these used on me at physio a few years ago, but I think these things were still relatively new back then and cost like an arm and leg. Now you can get them for less than $100.


  • fattoes

    A massage gun worked wonders for me for RLS quitting CT. Using it all over my body but especially my legs at a pretty high setting with good pressure while I was watching dumb youtube videos passing the time.


  • stollerd

    I bought the SoothePro Mini Massage Device in July and it’s great. It’s quiet and gets to a very high level of intensity. Less than half the price of some of the bigger brands.


  • AmmaarPapit

    I purchased one about 2 weeks ago and i feel that its helped massively, really really happy with it. Would defo recommend. It doesn’t stop it completely, but it does dull the effects down.


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