Having restless leg syndrome means itchy pins and needle sensations in your arms and legs that keep you up at night and won’t go away. This condition can develop at any age and can worsen as you age, disrupting sleep cycles and interfering with daily activities. While lifestyle changes and self-care can help manage these symptoms, there are other forms of treatment that can help control your restless leg syndrome.

Vein Disorders and Restless Leg Syndrome

For some, the underlying cause of their condition can come from leg vein disorders, such as varicose veins and other vascular diseases. Many of the symptoms presented with restless leg syndrome mean that patients can be examined for venous insufficiency. While the condition itself can also be traced to iron deficiencies, kidney diseases, and lack of dopamine production, several studies have noted a connection between restless leg syndrome and venous insufficiency.

Venous insufficiency occurs when the leg veins don’t allow blood to flow back up to the heart, causing the blood to flow backways and pool in the legs. One of the biggest symptoms of venous insufficiency is varicose veins, a condition where the veins become enlarged and prominent along the thighs, buttocks, and calves. Because of the pooling blood, it could also lead to restless leg syndrome due to the feeling of heaviness and pressure along the leg muscles.

Because of these connections, patients with restless leg syndrome are often evaluated for venous insufficiency and varicose veins. If present, treating those veins can potentially relieve symptoms of restless leg syndrome and improve quality of life.

Treating Varicose Veins From Restless Leg Syndrome

If you have restless leg syndrome, then it’s our responsibility to examine whether or not venous insufficiency can be a first step towards treating the condition and relieving your symptoms. If signs of varicose veins are present, then our physicians can provide various treatments to help alleviate symptoms of these veins and restless leg syndrome as a whole. These treatments include:

• Sclerotherapy: Sclerotherapy treats varicose and spider veins through a series of injections that cause those veins to scar and diminish, encouraging the body to reroute blood through healthier veins.
• Endovenous Laser Treatment: This type of surgery uses laser therapy to remove and treat signs of varicose veins, using the heat produced by the lasers to destroy the veins, allowing the body to reabsorb the tissue and reroute blood to healthy tissue.
• Endovenous Ablation: Similar to laser treatment, endovenous ablation works to close off varicose veins by using heat transmitted through a needle and wire. It’s a less-invasive surgery that leaves virtually no scars behind and helps reroute the veins for healthy blood flow.
• Radiofrequency Ablation: As a minimally invasive technique, this treatment can also be used to treat venous insufficiency in the legs by creating a current of heat that targets varicose veins for pain relief.

All of these treatments depend on your overall health, medical history, and symptoms of venous insufficiency, as each patient’s treatment depends on the symptoms and underlying conditions they may face. For more information about restless leg syndrome and potential treatment options, visit Vein Center of North Texas for more information.