IF YOU’VE EVER experienced RESTLESS LEGS you know the definition of restless: uneasy, unquiet, jumpy, unsettled, and the very opposite of calm, quiet, and restful.
RESTLESS LEG SYNDROME (RLS)
According to the medical community there are 3 kinds of restless legs: kicking, twitching, and the feeling of creeping crawling. Often, there’s no known cause; however researchers suspect the condition may be caused by an imbalance of the brain chemical dopamine, which sends messages to control muscle movement.
My first encounter with restless legs was back in 1985, and usually in the early evening or at the start of sleep time. It seldom lasted more than 10 or 15 minutes and never interrupted my sleep, so other than getting up and moving a bit I never sought any solutions.
When 9/11 happened back in 2001, I had a lot of trouble sleeping and began taking over the counter nighttime sleep tablets. At about the same time I was reading a book by Dr. Daniel Amen which suggested 5 HTP and L-tryptophan to help with sleep. I decided to try it and the first night I took it I DIDN’T HAVE RESTLESS LEGS. I continued to take the combination for many years and was free of the restless leg syndrome during all that time.
After many years I stopped taking it and still enjoyed good sleep and freedom from restless legs… until one night it began again. This time it wasn’t just for 10 or 15 minutes, it went on and on and often for up to 2 hours.
If you have restless leg syndrome (RLS) you already know that it isn’t pleasant and you’ve probably tried more than one of the suggested remedies. One of the suggested causes is iron deficiency but blood tests show I am not iron deficient. With that ruled out I started stretching, exercising, not exercising, and over the counter medications. Nothing worked.
One day I was talking with a physician friend and she said, “Well you know it is a nerve problem. Why don’t you try addressing the trigger points and confusing the nerves.” WHAT!!????
Here I am a Bonnie Prudden Myotherapist and I’ve not tried what is in “my own backyard” so to speak? Then I remembered back to the 80s when we had success treating RLS with some of our patients. I then remembered Bonnie noting in her not yet published book on fibromyalgia that BPMYO worked for RLS.
That evening while watching the news I began working on my legs using the self-help tools that Bonnie developed. The sensations I’d been experiencing were in the outside of my lower leg so I began a thorough search. EUREKA! That night I slept ten hours. I continued to address the muscles in the entire leg using what we call Quick Fix, a few trigger points in the gluteal, BASICS, a few more points and lines in the upper legs and CLEAN OUT, many more points, and added lines in the lower leg. This was followed with specific corrective exercises for the muscle groups I addressed.
It has been a month now. I don’t have to address the trigger points each night but I do stop and do the exercises throughout the day. I am finding that if the RLS begins when I am in bed I am able to abort it within a few minutes using the tools and can go to sleep or go back to sleep.
So, if you have RLS and have tried everything, give BPMYO a try. You don’t need the Bonnie Prudden tools. You can use substitutes that you have around the house like the end of a wooden spoon or a Sharpie pen to find your trigger points.
You can do it yourself. It doesn’t cost you anything to try. You don’t need an appointment other than with yourself.
Good luck, and I hope you can say along with me, “GOOD NIGHT RESTLESS LEGS!”
——————————————————–
If you have questions or need help, email me at enid@bonnieprudden.com.
For more information about Bonnie Prudden®, Bonnie Prudden Myotherapy®, workshops, books, self-help tools, DVDs, educational videos, and blogs, visit www.bonnieprudden.com. Or call 520-299-8064 if you have questions or need help. Enid Whittaker, Managing Director, Bonnie Prudden Myotherapy®
