Restless Legs Syndrome (RLS) Discussion Board

I assume you're talking about temporarily dealing with a bout of RLS symptoms.

It's not standing, it's walking. Standing isn't enough.
Sometimes a bit of stretching but mainly walking.
Time is impossible to tell as it's different for each of us and can be different from day to day.
I walk for as long as it takes, sometimes 15 minutes, sometimes a half hour until a medication kicks in but often it could be for an hour or more.

There have been nights where I've walked for hours, leaning over the chest freezer trying to walk on the spot because I'm so tired and my body and legs are aching with weariness. That wasn't so often and even less now that I've got off the ropinerole that had caused augmentation.

There are other little tricks that might speed it along. A very hot shower, or a very cold who directing the water into the legs.

I used to use a very deep bucket filled with really cold water and splash the water up as high as my knees. This took about 20 minutes to work and the first couple of minutes was tough but after that it was quite comfortable. For me the intensity of the bucket of water far outweighed the benefits of the cold shower.

Others have used a bath with lots of Epsom salts.
A spray of magnesium.
I've used the icy cold aerosol for back pain.
These measures can buy a little time and reduce the walking time if you're lucky.

Are you taking any medication.
What have you tried to try and control your rls?

My bed is very high. There are drawers under the bed. I have a stool to get into my bed. When I am exhausted, but can't lie down, I can bend at my waist, put my head on a pillow, and still march in place. Most of the time I ride my recumbent bike for 30 min. It usually works.

My symptoms tend to go away the moment I start moving my legs / feet around. However they also come back almost just as fast.

Extended intense physical activities like long walks through town can also make symptoms worse in the evening.

Short walks and low intense physical activity however can improve baseline symptoms a bit but it is not significant enough to make a real difference for me.