Electro Muscle Stimulation (EMS) for RLS

Please share your experiences, successes, and failures in using non-drug therapies for RLS/WED (methods of relief that don't involve swallowing or injecting anything), including compression, heat, light, stretches, acupuncture, etc. Also under this heading, medical interventions that don't involve the administration of a medicine to the body (eg. varicose-vein operations, deep-brain stimulation). [This forum contains Topics started prior to 2009 that deal with Non-prescription Medicines, Supplements, & Diet.]
SquirmingSusan
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Post by SquirmingSusan »

Actually, Jill Gunzel, "the RLS Rebel," recommends using the vibrating back massagers on the feet. She says it can aggravate the RLS at first, but if you can get past the discomfort and keep your feet on it for half an hour or so, it will help. She's not a researcher or a doctor, but has compiled all kinds of helpful information on her "RLS Rebel" website.

Even if RLS is a problem in the brain, many of the ways we get relief involve the affected limbs - walking, stretching, massage, etc. I've had great relief from the painful symptoms by using creams with capsaicin, although I stopped using them because I always get it in my eyes. Everything we do directly with the affected limbs will send signals to the brain, so I'll leave it to the researchers to figure out just where the RLS originates. :wink: But most of the recent research seems to point to something to do with dopamine and iron in the brain.

I have very painful symptoms at times, and I use the Alpha Stim device for that. After a day or so of rebound, it knocks the pain down a few points on the pain scale. It seems to make the myoclonus worse, though.

I'm at my mom's so I can't look and see what brand my EMS machine is, but I'll let you know when I figure it out.
Susan

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