As a physiotherapist I see many with different disorders. Of course I have a preference. Not for a disorder as such, but I do have a preference for a certain type of patient .Patients I enjoy working with are sportsters. Sporting is really important for filling up my day, for my mental well -being and physical reward. I can imagine, but fortunately I do not speak from experience, how annoying it is when one cannot do a sport because of an injury or a persistent complaint. Some sports demand that one’s body is in an excellent condition, others demand more power and explosiveness. It goes for both efforts that one has to take a break at a certain moment (roughly 24 hours after cardio- and 48 hours after power training).
However there is a disorder, a syndrome which demands motion from the body when it is at rest. The ‘restless legs syndrome’ ( syndrome of restless legs). The complaints the patients describe are for example an itching or burning sensation in the feet and legs, an enormous urge to move and sometimes also contractions of the muscles at rest or in one’s sleep (it may also occur in the hands and arms).The symptoms particularly occur in the evening or at night, so when one is at rest. This is a neurological disorder so the cause lies with one’s nerves. Nerves control muscles and with this disorder something goes wrong with the functioning of those nerve cells which send signals to the muscles and make movement possible. At the time when the body should be at rest, it demands motion. Notwithstanding the fact that you have had sufficient exercise that day.
This goes to show that the body also has a mechanism which looks like the effect of ‘supply and demand’ in the market place. If the supply is greater than the demand, the producers end up with a surplus, which they can only sell if they dare ask a lower price. In that case there is a downward pressure on the price. When the demand is greater than the supply, the consumers will still keep on asking for the product until the complete production has been sold.
If they really still want the product, then they will have to be willing to pay a higher price, which causes an upward pressure on the price. Restless legs, one may see it as a distorted demand, may cause an upward pressure on one’s body. As unpleasant as it may be, beside nutrition and sticking to a certain rhythm, the advice usually given
is ………….the answer is quite obvious: Keep on moving.