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I have been suffering from sciatica, for which I am taking medication on advice of my doctor.

Whilst the pain is now minimal, I have an almost uncontrollable urge to walk briskly and keep my left leg moving. It just doesn't feel comfortable when I am sat down, which is not always practical as I have a job that requires me to sit at a desk. Just jiggling my leg around whilst sat down doesn't provide relief.

I'm looking for any suggestions of how to reduce the impact of this problem, whether it's clothing, exercises or whatever as long as they're safe and at worst ineffective.

EDIT: To clarify, I'm not looking for a replacement for professional medical treatment, just tips on how to be more comfortable whilst this condition persists. I will be discussing it with my physician next week.

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  • What I once thought was restless leg keeping me awake, turned out to be when my blood sugars were too high... Just throwing it out there...
    – Thomas
    Oct 10, 2023 at 21:42

5 Answers 5

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To feel more comfortable, three things can help you : you can walk (you already know that), you can make a massage to your legs, and you can take a warm bath.

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Found this thread after waking up at 2am and not being able to fall back asleep due to restless leg..

Something that I've found actually very useful is compression. While the restless sensation is on the whole leg, wrapping my thighs has been a pretty great hack for me. I find it most effective if you wrap after the onset of the restless feeling. I tried wrapping before bed and while some nights I wouldnt get the sensation you cant really say if it was the wraps or if it was just a night the legs were not going to be restless. If you wrap before the onset of the sensation and then the restlessness comes up, the wraps do little to no help in alleviating in my experience. But wrapping after onset has been highly effective for me. But i'd recommend each person experiment for themselves.

I use knee wraps that are meant for heavy squatting. Elastic medical wraps may work but I think the heavier knee wraps probably provide better compression. I havent tried compression pants but I'd think the compression would be too light.

I keep them by my bed so if i wake up at night they can be on within a few minutes.

Additionally (although I've never tried), I've heard compression boots such as the Hyperice Normatec boots, Therabody RecoveryAir boots are effective at treating restless leg symptoms. Those brands are expensive though. There's cheaper ones on Amazon but not sure how they compare.

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try to learn meditating, it helps us to be calm and harmony, it was hard at first, but if you really make a habit out of it, i think that is the solution that you need

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The best home remedy I've heard of that actually works for RLS is Quinine Sulfate AKA Tonic Water. Any grocery store should have it. Drink an 8oz glass before bed. If you don't want to or can't drink fluids before bedtime Quinine Sulfate is a supplement that comes in various dosage formulations. Any drug store should cary it.

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When I reported a mild case of this (i.e. restless leg) to my doctor, she recommended more Potassium, e.g. bananas.

I started being more diligent about a "banana a day" and since I've done that, I have issues a LOT less often.

Guessing my case isn't as acute as yours may be ... but hey, it's just a banana so very simple to get and eat. ;)

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