RLS, Foe or .... friend?

Restless Leg Syndrome.  I first felt it over 30 years ago during pregnancy #2.  Briefly, it's the irresistible urge to move your leg due to (for me) an intense jitteriness in the muscles.  Some people experience tingling, or the "creepy-crawlies".  Mine's more like the sensation you get when the doctor taps your knee to test your reflexes .... do they still do that?  Like an unpleasant electrical zing.  Here's the weird part, that may be unique with me:  I only feel it in one leg at a time - usually the right one - sometimes high, sometimes low, and the restlessness comes in waves.  The only relief is to move, flex, or stand, only to have it return as soon as you unflex, stop moving, or sit.  Also, it's usually only in the evening or at night, making sleep completely impossible, and airplane rides a nightmare.

Thirty years ago, pre-internet, NO ONE I knew had heard of it, including the couple of doctors to whom I went for help.  One day a friend referred me to a newspaper article titled, "Night-walkers", (I still remember it) about fellow sufferers.  I finally had a name for it and with the coming of the internet, I eventually found, through my own research, a medication worth trying.  Taking that info to the doctor, I asked for a prescription.  Though there is no cure, the med worked - or at least it keeps it manageable - and I will probably be on it for life.  It's either that or insanity, and trust me, RLS had me on that road.

So why share that here?  I still have bouts of it here and there (especially whenever I forget to take a pill) and MANY a night will drag myself out of bed and do deep knee bends in the dark. Working the muscles to the point of near exhaustion will often get rid of it for the night, or at least for a while, and I'm now up to at least 70 or more before my legs are tired enough.  BUT I think all these years of nocturnal knee bends has given me strong knees.  And strong knees are highly valuable for running.

I have never had (knock on wood!) any of the all-too-common-in-running knee injuries.   In the Hood to Coast relay, I ran the dreaded first "leg" (section) in Position #1 which is 5 miles of fairly steep down-hill road.  It's well-known for being a knee-killer and as team captain, I've read the helpful advice to assign this leg to my LEAST-favorite teammate.  (Assigning myself that leg may appear noble, but to be honest and to NOT take credit where none is due, the other legs that went with 1st Position were easy.  Besides, how hard can 5 miles DOWN HILL be?)  Result:  Other than the raging soreness in my calves and thighs and hobbling like a 90 year old the next day, my knees held up just fine.

RLS is not considered "dangerous" or "life threatening" even though in desperate frustration at 2 a.m., I've had occasional non-suicidal thoughts of beating my leg with a baseball bat.  But there have been blessings.  And I choose to include my sturdy running knees in those blessings.