sewing machine legs came to mind night of sleep study. Had to wait for quite some time, not much room to walk, sat in side chair and realized I am a swinger. No wonder I couldn't relate to the sewing machine legs, I am just too short for most chairs etc, that I swing my legs instead of bouncing... thanks for bringing a chuckle to this ole womans heart! Helped the night go faster!
Hazel
"sewing machine legs" or bouncing legs while sitti
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Walking After Midnight
- Posts: 649
- Joined: Sun Aug 21, 2005 5:23 am
- Location: Portage, Indiana
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Always bouncing my legs if I'm sitting in a chair with my feet on the floor.
Some of the time, just unaware that I'm doing it. Funny 'cause when I started to read this post I noticed...they're bouncing like crazy and I hadn't been paying attention before.
If I am paying attention though, my legs just feel uncomfortable if they're not bouncing. Just doesn't feel right.
The last time I was at the Neuro, he said something about the Tegretol I was taking, he said something like..."We're trying to get THAT undercontrol"...as he nodded toward my legs that were bouncing like crazy. I don't know if he meant it was related to the RLS or not.
My 17 year old Daughter does the same thing, she's the only one in the family I've noticed doing it. She's also the only one who's told me she has very uncomfortable feelings in her legs sometimes.
Some of the time, just unaware that I'm doing it. Funny 'cause when I started to read this post I noticed...they're bouncing like crazy and I hadn't been paying attention before.
If I am paying attention though, my legs just feel uncomfortable if they're not bouncing. Just doesn't feel right.
The last time I was at the Neuro, he said something about the Tegretol I was taking, he said something like..."We're trying to get THAT undercontrol"...as he nodded toward my legs that were bouncing like crazy. I don't know if he meant it was related to the RLS or not.
My 17 year old Daughter does the same thing, she's the only one in the family I've noticed doing it. She's also the only one who's told me she has very uncomfortable feelings in her legs sometimes.
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guest
I can't use my username (uncontrollable jerk)
Hi, this is my first post. I will check out some of the other threads soon.
I have always had the sewing machine leg bounce too (great name for it
), but assumed it was sort of a reflex thing, like a doc hitting your knee with his little hammer). I didn't get RLS until I was in my 20's and was losing a disk in my lower spine. That was about 30 years ago and nobody had a name for it, and my docs didn't even recognize it as a problem. After 10 years of progressive symptoms of lower back pain and RLS, I finally had a spinal fusion, and the RLS went away.
Because of that, I don't think I have primary RLS, so I'm not sure the sewing machine bounce is related to RLS. Maybe anyone's leg will bounce if placed in that particular position. I think everyone here has indicated that they were up on their toes, not flat footed) when it happened. All you have to do to stop it is set your foot down. But there is something hypnotic about it, and once you start it, it's hard to stop. I used to bring it on deliberately, because I thought it was funny.
I am starting to suffer from RLS again, five years after my second back surgery. I developed a synovial cyst in my spine from the spinal fusion, and had to have it removed or become paralyzed.
This is the first time I've researched RLS, and I hope that secondary RLS is not aggravated by age as much as by other triggers. I know that Benadryl is a huge trigger for me. Even 25 mg instantly sets it off. Hydrocodone can bring it on it too. I'm hoping to learn more about potential chemical triggers by listening to all of you.
I also periodically suffer from leg and foot cramps, and charlie horses (esp. at night) and suspect they are diet related and not necessarily tied to the RLS. I have had them so bad that I've had my electrolytes checked and have never been able to determine what causes them. Taking supplements does not help, but hydration might.
After reading some of these threads, I'm wondering if medication is the way to go. Seems like the more meds we pump into our bodies, the more side effects we suffer from. I am hoping I can control it with walking and weight control, although it may indicate I'm developing another cyst in my spine. The cyst also created bladder control problems, and that is increasing as well.
I currently walk about five miles almost every day. If anyone else has had a reduction in symptoms that seems to correlate to exercise, I'd like to hear about it.
Thanks everyone for participating in this board. It's nice to be able to get ideas on how to deal with it, and just to know you are not alone (and to have a label for the problem). I never knew how to describe what made my legs jerk...in my case, it's similar to having an abcess (pressure) under a tooth, that feels better when you bite down on it. But also in my case I feel the twinge more in my lower back, than in my legs...but it's leg motion that relieves it.
I'm glad someone is finally taking this problem seriously.
I have always had the sewing machine leg bounce too (great name for it
), but assumed it was sort of a reflex thing, like a doc hitting your knee with his little hammer). I didn't get RLS until I was in my 20's and was losing a disk in my lower spine. That was about 30 years ago and nobody had a name for it, and my docs didn't even recognize it as a problem. After 10 years of progressive symptoms of lower back pain and RLS, I finally had a spinal fusion, and the RLS went away.
Because of that, I don't think I have primary RLS, so I'm not sure the sewing machine bounce is related to RLS. Maybe anyone's leg will bounce if placed in that particular position. I think everyone here has indicated that they were up on their toes, not flat footed) when it happened. All you have to do to stop it is set your foot down. But there is something hypnotic about it, and once you start it, it's hard to stop.
I used to bring it on deliberately, because I thought it was funny.
I am starting to suffer from RLS again, five years after my second back surgery. I developed a synovial cyst in my spine from the spinal fusion, and had to have it removed or become paralyzed.
This is the first time I've researched RLS, and I hope that secondary RLS is not aggravated by age as much as by other triggers. I know that Benadryl is a huge trigger for me. Even 25 mg instantly sets it off. Hydrocodone can bring it on it too. I'm hoping to learn more about potential chemical triggers by listening to all of you.
I also periodically suffer from leg and foot cramps, and charlie horses (esp. at night) and suspect they are diet related and not necessarily tied to the RLS. I have had them so bad that I've had my electrolytes checked and have never been able to determine what causes them. Taking supplements does not help, but hydration might.
After reading some of these threads, I'm wondering if medication is the way to go. Seems like the more meds we pump into our bodies, the more side effects we suffer from. I am hoping I can control it with walking and weight control, although it may indicate I'm developing another cyst in my spine. The cyst also created bladder control problems, and that is increasing as well.
I currently walk about five miles almost every day. If anyone else has had a reduction in symptoms that seems to correlate to exercise, I'd like to hear about it.
Thanks everyone for participating in this board. It's nice to be able to get ideas on how to deal with it, and just to know you are not alone (and to have a label for the problem). I never knew how to describe what made my legs jerk...in my case, it's similar to having an abcess (pressure) under a tooth, that feels better when you bite down on it. But also in my case I feel the twinge more in my lower back, than in my legs...but it's leg motion that relieves it.
I'm glad someone is finally taking this problem seriously.
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Angelsinsation
I concur that the urge to " bounce" or as my family called it jiggle your leg is related to RLS. However I'm not entirely convinced that it is a direct relationship. While I cannot speak for anyone else, my frequency of jiggling during the day is not directly proportional to the severity of my RLS symptons when I relax.
To answer the other question you posed; my symptons are twitching and electrical sensation during the day; add aching also at night.
To answer the other question you posed; my symptons are twitching and electrical sensation during the day; add aching also at night.
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rlsreliefgirl
- Posts: 3
- Joined: Thu Feb 02, 2006 9:46 pm
- Location: Chicago
Shake Legs
Please see what's helped me! rlsreliefgirl
Definitely worth a try, you'll feel much better. VK
Definitely worth a try, you'll feel much better. VK
What've you got to lose besides rls?
Re: "sewing machine legs" or bouncing legs while s
DrWass22 wrote: I always shake my legs when sitting....one member described this as "sewing machine legs"... basically when sitting...toes on ground knees off the ground... your legs shakes up and down. I've always done this totally subconciously as long as I can remember
DrWass22, this is an exact description of what I do! And yes, I do it almost unconsciously. I sit, lift my heel, toes on the floor and away I go! I don't have pain in my legs, but when I do this "sewing machine" motion, it just feels great!
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Kris
- Posts: 82
- Joined: Fri Jun 03, 2005 5:15 pm
- Location: www.wiresplice.com
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KristinW
moving legs during day
In reply, I when I am sitting for longer stretches of time than usual (in meetings particularly), my legs go nuts. I have decided that I may request permission to stand, or else just stand in the back unobserved. It has been a tremendous problem.
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ViewsAskew
- Moderator
- Posts: 16580
- Joined: Thu Oct 28, 2004 6:37 am
- Location: Los Angeles
Just came across this today: http://lfpress.ca/newsstand/CityandRegi ... 7-sun.html
Reasons to shake a leg
Sat, April 15, 2006
By IAN GILLESPIE, FREE PRESS COLUMNIST
I do it when I'm eating. I do it when I'm reading. I do it when I'm talking, when I'm listening and when I'm working at my computer.
In fact, I'm doing it right now.
I'm bouncing my knee -- up and down, up and down, up and down -- as if my right leg has turned into some kind of perpetual-motion piston.
Bounce, bounce, bounce bounce, bounce.
Maybe you're a knee-bouncer, too.
Maybe you live with a knee-bouncer or sit next to a knee-bouncer at work or at school.
Maybe you've had a trip to the cinema ruined because the person sitting beside you was a knee bouncer.
Bounce, bounce, bounce bounce, bounce.
I don't know why I bounce my knee. Maybe I drink too much coffee.
Maybe knee-bouncing fills some deep, dark inner void. Maybe I'm just an irritating jerk.
Bounce, bounce, bounce bounce bounce.
Now I'm bouncing both knees. They're bouncing so much, in fact, that my chair is squeaking, my monitor is shaking and the work station around me is vibrating at a level normally associated with a magnitude-three earthquake.
I need help.
And about two weeks ago, I thought help had arrived in the gracious form of a London woman, Jane Vincent-Havelka, who sat down to talk about a problem she has that's called Restless Legs Syndrome (RLS).
"Holy cow!" I thought. Maybe I'm not just an over- caffeinated, knee-bouncing jerk; maybe I'm afflicted with an honest-to-goodness medical condition.
According to the Restless Legs Syndrome Foundation (www.rls.org) based in Rochester, Minn., RLS is a disruptive neurological disorder that affects about eight per cent of the population and results in an irresistible urge to move the legs.
"Holy cow (again)!" I thought. That's me! So I asked Vincent-Havelka about her symptoms.
"The phrase often used (to describe it) is 'creepy crawly,' she said. "It's sort of an itching, tingling feeling within your legs."
Creepy crawly? Itching tingling?
Are we talking about the same thing?
"It can hit me at any time of the day or night, which makes it very aggravating," she said. "It's this urge -- you've got to move your legs. And it's hard to concentrate at times."
Hard to concentrate? I think knee-bouncing does the opposite for me.
Vincent-Havelka explained she often gets this itchy feeling in her calves at night. When that happens, she said she usually gets up and walks around the house.
And at the first sign of tingling, she takes several extra-strength Tylenol to help.
This doesn't sound like my bouncing knee.
So I called John Kay, a London neurologist who knows all about restless legs. He said one patient told him he'd gone 30 years without a decent night's sleep because of RLS. And when finally relieved (Kay said the most common treatment is a low dose of a medication used to treat Parkinson's disease), the man was thrilled.
Kay said RLS has been nicknamed "the most common disorder you've never heard of."
He said that although it's generally a benign nuisance, in more severe cases it causes people to experience periodic jerking movements in their limbs.
"It's a condition that people tend to have in private because it primarily occurs at night," he said. "During the daytime, people (with RLS) feel normal."
Nope, this definitely doesn't sound like my bouncing knee. So I asked him -- if I'm a knee-bouncer, have I got RLS?
"No, no," said Kay, rather impatiently. "It's not the same thing at all."
Knee-bouncing, he said, is a self-generated "muscle stretch reflex" similar to when a doctor taps your knee with a rubber hammer. It's really nothing more than a symptom of stress, like tapping a pen or drumming your fingers.
Oh.
So I guess I'm not afflicted with an honest-to-goodness medical syndrome. I guess knee bouncers like me can't join a support group -- bounce, bounce, bounce -- or take time off work -- bounce, bounce bounce -- or fund vital research to unlock the mysteries of this habit.
I guess all we can really do is hope -- bounce, bounce bounce -- that I don't end up sitting beside you -- bounce, bounce, bounce -- at the movies.
Reasons to shake a leg
Sat, April 15, 2006
By IAN GILLESPIE, FREE PRESS COLUMNIST
I do it when I'm eating. I do it when I'm reading. I do it when I'm talking, when I'm listening and when I'm working at my computer.
In fact, I'm doing it right now.
I'm bouncing my knee -- up and down, up and down, up and down -- as if my right leg has turned into some kind of perpetual-motion piston.
Bounce, bounce, bounce bounce, bounce.
Maybe you're a knee-bouncer, too.
Maybe you live with a knee-bouncer or sit next to a knee-bouncer at work or at school.
Maybe you've had a trip to the cinema ruined because the person sitting beside you was a knee bouncer.
Bounce, bounce, bounce bounce, bounce.
I don't know why I bounce my knee. Maybe I drink too much coffee.
Maybe knee-bouncing fills some deep, dark inner void. Maybe I'm just an irritating jerk.
Bounce, bounce, bounce bounce bounce.
Now I'm bouncing both knees. They're bouncing so much, in fact, that my chair is squeaking, my monitor is shaking and the work station around me is vibrating at a level normally associated with a magnitude-three earthquake.
I need help.
And about two weeks ago, I thought help had arrived in the gracious form of a London woman, Jane Vincent-Havelka, who sat down to talk about a problem she has that's called Restless Legs Syndrome (RLS).
"Holy cow!" I thought. Maybe I'm not just an over- caffeinated, knee-bouncing jerk; maybe I'm afflicted with an honest-to-goodness medical condition.
According to the Restless Legs Syndrome Foundation (www.rls.org) based in Rochester, Minn., RLS is a disruptive neurological disorder that affects about eight per cent of the population and results in an irresistible urge to move the legs.
"Holy cow (again)!" I thought. That's me! So I asked Vincent-Havelka about her symptoms.
"The phrase often used (to describe it) is 'creepy crawly,' she said. "It's sort of an itching, tingling feeling within your legs."
Creepy crawly? Itching tingling?
Are we talking about the same thing?
"It can hit me at any time of the day or night, which makes it very aggravating," she said. "It's this urge -- you've got to move your legs. And it's hard to concentrate at times."
Hard to concentrate? I think knee-bouncing does the opposite for me.
Vincent-Havelka explained she often gets this itchy feeling in her calves at night. When that happens, she said she usually gets up and walks around the house.
And at the first sign of tingling, she takes several extra-strength Tylenol to help.
This doesn't sound like my bouncing knee.
So I called John Kay, a London neurologist who knows all about restless legs. He said one patient told him he'd gone 30 years without a decent night's sleep because of RLS. And when finally relieved (Kay said the most common treatment is a low dose of a medication used to treat Parkinson's disease), the man was thrilled.
Kay said RLS has been nicknamed "the most common disorder you've never heard of."
He said that although it's generally a benign nuisance, in more severe cases it causes people to experience periodic jerking movements in their limbs.
"It's a condition that people tend to have in private because it primarily occurs at night," he said. "During the daytime, people (with RLS) feel normal."
Nope, this definitely doesn't sound like my bouncing knee. So I asked him -- if I'm a knee-bouncer, have I got RLS?
"No, no," said Kay, rather impatiently. "It's not the same thing at all."
Knee-bouncing, he said, is a self-generated "muscle stretch reflex" similar to when a doctor taps your knee with a rubber hammer. It's really nothing more than a symptom of stress, like tapping a pen or drumming your fingers.
Oh.
So I guess I'm not afflicted with an honest-to-goodness medical syndrome. I guess knee bouncers like me can't join a support group -- bounce, bounce, bounce -- or take time off work -- bounce, bounce bounce -- or fund vital research to unlock the mysteries of this habit.
I guess all we can really do is hope -- bounce, bounce bounce -- that I don't end up sitting beside you -- bounce, bounce, bounce -- at the movies.
Ann - Take what you need, leave the rest
Managing Your RLS
Opinions presented by Discussion Board Moderators are personal in nature and do not, in any way, represent the opinion of the RLS Foundation, and are not medical advice.
Managing Your RLS
Opinions presented by Discussion Board Moderators are personal in nature and do not, in any way, represent the opinion of the RLS Foundation, and are not medical advice.
sewing machine legs and also shaking legs.
I would also ask how many just keep moving legs all he time besides the up/down motion of the sewwing machine definition. Do you move you knees in and out contantantly, or dangle your foot and just shake it aound.
I find I do this a lot also. My RLS seems to only act up at night, but maybe its because I'm always moving during the day. I'm sitting on a couch now, wating TV and typing on the computer and my knees and calfs are just acting up. Trying to lie still, in bed to sleep would be impossible. Of course for me, the compression stockings work great, but thats another thread.
What I want to know here, is...
" do we keep moving our legs all dayas an unconscious effort to ward off the RLS symptoms (creepy, crawly, tingling ) so it seems to start at night. Maybe its always there.
I find I do this a lot also. My RLS seems to only act up at night, but maybe its because I'm always moving during the day. I'm sitting on a couch now, wating TV and typing on the computer and my knees and calfs are just acting up. Trying to lie still, in bed to sleep would be impossible. Of course for me, the compression stockings work great, but thats another thread.
What I want to know here, is...
" do we keep moving our legs all dayas an unconscious effort to ward off the RLS symptoms (creepy, crawly, tingling ) so it seems to start at night. Maybe its always there.
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ViewsAskew
- Moderator
- Posts: 16580
- Joined: Thu Oct 28, 2004 6:37 am
- Location: Los Angeles
I don't know how to describe it, but when I bounce wiggle, dangle, stretch, or sewing-machine, I can tell when it's pre-RLS, nervousness, or the just plain restlessness of boredom.
Pre-RLS has a feeling all of its own. My movements then are slower and more deliberate - I tend to pull the muscles more and stretch them, rotating my ankle and foot. When I'm nervous, it's faster and more consistent - up and down, up and down, fast, fast, fast.
During RLS, the sewing machine legs are done "just-so" to remove the sensation. Lightly resting only the ball of my foot on the floor with my heel up in the air, I maintain and up and down motion of my leg as fast as I can. That and an occasional punch to the offending thigh muscle and I can sit for awhile before it no longer works and I have to get up.
Pre-RLS has a feeling all of its own. My movements then are slower and more deliberate - I tend to pull the muscles more and stretch them, rotating my ankle and foot. When I'm nervous, it's faster and more consistent - up and down, up and down, fast, fast, fast.
During RLS, the sewing machine legs are done "just-so" to remove the sensation. Lightly resting only the ball of my foot on the floor with my heel up in the air, I maintain and up and down motion of my leg as fast as I can. That and an occasional punch to the offending thigh muscle and I can sit for awhile before it no longer works and I have to get up.
Ann - Take what you need, leave the rest
Managing Your RLS
Opinions presented by Discussion Board Moderators are personal in nature and do not, in any way, represent the opinion of the RLS Foundation, and are not medical advice.
Managing Your RLS
Opinions presented by Discussion Board Moderators are personal in nature and do not, in any way, represent the opinion of the RLS Foundation, and are not medical advice.
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scootermom
- Posts: 13
- Joined: Fri Jul 07, 2006 12:27 am
- Location: Las Vegas
- Contact:
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Picky
rls bouncing
Hi, I'm new to this board, but thought I would add my experience. I bounce my legs all the time. I've had RLS since a child, but of course, didn't know what it was. I'm 53 now. I have learned that when I start bouncing my legs, it seems to be a 'pre' rls symptom. Unconsciously I start bouncing and I know it's getting ready to hit me hard. Unfortunately, I have rls at any time of day now. I actually quit my job because I couldn't sit still. I even told them that when I'm bouncing my legs it's not because I have to go to the bathroom or anything, it's my rls. 
They looked at me like I was an alien. I take several naps a day to counter my loss of sleep. I can't take Requip or Mirapex because of nasty side effects.
I'm glad I found this discussion board, I've noticed several different meds I'm going to check out. I get very little sleep. I have found that walking too much will result in one of my worst nights.
Thanks.
They looked at me like I was an alien. I take several naps a day to counter my loss of sleep. I can't take Requip or Mirapex because of nasty side effects.
I'm glad I found this discussion board, I've noticed several different meds I'm going to check out. I get very little sleep. I have found that walking too much will result in one of my worst nights.
Thanks.