7% of Mexicans suffer Restless Legs Syndrome

If you have trouble sleeping, you have the imperative need to move your legs and moving them you feel relief, especially in the evening, it can be Syndrome of Restless Legs (SPI), known scientifically as acromelalgia.

Specialists of the Mexican Social Security Institute (IMSS) estimate that in Mexico this condition occurs in up to 7% of the population.

According to American Academy of Neurology (AAN) SPI affects 10% of the population worldwide, between 30 and 70 years. It is characterized by symptoms like tingle , pain , despair , tickling Y Cramps , sensations that occur in the calf area but affect anywhere on one or both legs.

The doctor Jorge Aguilar Castillo , boss of Clinical Neurophysiology Service of the Specialties Hospital of the National Medical Center Siglo XXI , commented that it is a neurological disease of genetic origin without cerebral repercussions; However, it can sometimes influence the stress and the anxiety or be associated with conditions such as anemia , renal insufficiency , Parkinson or disorders of the spinal cord .

He added that the SPI is characterized by the need to move the lower extremities while sleeping or sitting. "Symptoms regularly occur during the evening and become more severe at night, during sleep, and the patient has periodic movements in the legs. inconvenience and wakes up constantly, which generates the sensation of not restful sleep ".

He indicated that the patient goes to the consultation manifesting insomnia , fatigue , drowsiness , fatigue Y lack of attention . In fact, the biggest problem of this syndrome is that it breaks people's sleeping patterns and can not rest, causing poor school performance Y low labor productivity .

Dr. Rubén García Ramírez, head of the Department of Neurology of the Hospital of Pediatrics National Medical Center Siglo XXI , noted that this syndrome affects the quality of life of people as it decreases cognitive ability, increases the possibility of accidents, stimulates the Bad mood , irritability , fatigue and it affects the immune system, causing a higher risk of diseases and even the early death .

He explained that in the IMSS, the diagnosis is made through the symptomatology and the practice of nocturnal studies such as the electroencephalogram (EEG); the electrooculogram (EOG), which is the measurement of eye movements and polysomnography , which consists of the registration of these electrophysiological parameters that define the states of dream and of vigil .

By measuring certain parameters, he said, as muscle activity , breathing , heart rate , oxygenation Y eye movements , neurologists have sufficient clinical history of the patient, to properly manage the diagnosis Y treatment .

For better treatment results, doctors suggest a routine of exercise moderate that helps sleep better , take a hot bath or massage on the legs However, although many patients feel relief with these measures, others hardly eliminate the discomfort completely, therefore, drugs that help the central nervous system are used.

Finally, the specialists stress the importance of going to the doctor in case of presenting the symptom mentioned, since this condition is often underdiagnosed and the lack of treatment exacerbates the pain .


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