An exercise program that includes aerobic and lower body resistance training may improve symptoms of Restless Legs Syndrome (RLS), a study at East Tennessee State University’s James H. Quillen College of Medicine found.
Findings were published in a recent issue of The Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine.
“This was a preliminary study, and further research is needed, but we now have data that supports the theory that exercise may help sufferers of restless legs syndrome,” said Dr. Max Bayard, principal investigator of the study and program director of ETSU Family Medicine Associates.
The study, which was conducted at ETSU, involved a group of men and women who were identified as having RLS, a highly under-diagnosed problem that affects approximately 10 percent of the population.
It is characterized by an uncomfortable sensation associated with an urge to move the legs, particularly at night. As a result, many RLS sufferers are unable to get a good night’s sleep.
Participants in the ETSU study were given a 12-week exercise program that included treadmill walking for 30-minute intervals at prescribed levels of intensity, as well as lower body strength training three times per week.
During the course of the resistance training, the subjects – many of whom had never been involved in a regular strength program before, were instructed to increase the weights as well as the numbers of sets and repetitions.
Strength activities included leg presses and extensions, leg curls, hip adduction and abduction, and seated rotary calf press.
Bayard and his study team assessed the patients’ symptoms using the International RLS Study Group (IRLSSG) severity scale. This validated 10-item questionnaire is designed to assess symptom severity, frequency, and impact of RLS on daily life.
Using the IRLSSG, data on the ETSU participants was gathered at the beginning of the study and again at three, six, nine and 12 weeks.
“By the end of the study, most patients on the exercise regimen reported improvement in the symptoms of RLS, and some noticed it as early as six weeks,” said Bayard, who is also an ETSU associate professor in the department of family medicine.
“We hypothesized that exercise would help the symptoms, but this gives some credibility to the theory. These findings are very promising, but larger studies are needed before exercise can be routinely prescribed for RLS.”
Other investigators in the study were Dr. Doug Aukerman and Melissa Aukerman, former ETSU faculty members now at Penn State University; Dr. Fred Tudiver and Dr. Beth Bailey from ETSU’s department of family medicine; and Dr. Lydia Thorp, a former resident physician with ETSU Family Medicine Associates.
Bayard has established a clinic at ETSU Family Medicine Associates specifically for patients with Restless Legs Syndrome. The clinic focuses on making a diagnosis and providing an evaluation and treatment plan.
To make an appointment, call 439-5765.

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