This article is from the WebMD Feature Archive

For Walt Kowalski of Jackson, Mich., bedtime isn't the relaxing end to the day, but the beginning of another nerve-jangling night with restless legs syndrome.

Soon after lying down, unpleasant electricity-like sensations creep into Kowalski's legs. An urge to move grows and becomes irresistible. The feelings force him to kick, move, or get up and walk. The unpleasant symptoms return and often keep him walking in the night, robbing him of sleep.

Restless legs syndrome (RLS) is an often misunderstood neurological condition. Although it affects up to 10% of Americans, RLS has its skeptics. New research, though, is bringing new understanding and treatment to this sometimes debilitating disorder.

Restless Legs Syndrome: New Kid on the Block

Until recently, most people had never heard of RLS. Even most physicians were in the dark.

Many people learned about restless legs syndrome from watching TV advertisements for medicines that treat RLS. So, is restless legs syndrome just a "made-up" disease?

"Despite the trivial-sounding name, this is a very real disorder," says Mark Buchfuhrer, MD, a nationally known expert on restless legs syndrome, who has treated hundreds of people with the condition over the past 15 years.

RLS first appeared in the medical literature in 1945. Recent publicity has raised its profile, but "restless legs syndrome has been around for centuries,", says Georgianna Bell, executive director of the Restless Legs Syndrome Foundation (www.rls.org). Descriptions of the disorder date as far back as the late 1600s in writings by the physician Sir Thomas Willis.

While 8% to 10% of Americans have some symptoms of RLS, "about 3% of adults have restless legs syndrome that impacts their quality of life enough to seek treatment," says Bell.

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