Restless Leg Syndrome (RLS) is a disorder that causes an overwhelming urge to move one’s legs and affects 5-10% of adults in the United States. It typically occurs in the evening or with relaxation. People who suffer from restless leg syndrome describe it as an irresistible urge to get up and move or shake their legs to alleviate the buzzing, tingling, crawling, and restlessness that occurs. For many years, doctors have thought that restless leg syndrome is exclusively a neurological condition. However, several studies over the last 10 years point to venous disease as highly associated with RLS.
How Does Vein Disease Cause Restless Leg Syndrome?
Healthy veins have valves that prevent the backward flow of blood down into your legs. Vein disease is caused by faulty vein valves that allow backward leakage of blood. Backward blood flow causes your veins to enlarge, bulge, and twist resulting in leg symptoms including restless legs. You do NOT have to have bulging varicose veins to have significant, lifestyle-limiting symptoms including restless legs. Vein disease may or may not be associated with varicose veins, spider veins, skin changes, and venous ulcerations, or restless legs, and indiscriminately affects between 30–40 million Americans.
Symptoms of Venous Insufficiency:
- Restless legs
- Itching
- Heaviness/tiredness
- Aches/pain/tenderness
- Burning / Cramping
- Spider veins — especially below your knees or near your ankles
- Bulging, varicose veins
- Ankle swelling
- Skin discoloration — slight or obvious darkening of your skin near your ankles
- Bleeding veins
- Ulceration
How Is Vein Disease Diagnosed as the Cause of Your RLS?
Contact Trident Vein Center today to schedule an evaluation. A careful history and physician exam are usually all that is necessary to make an accurate diagnosis. A 60 minute ultrasound exam of your legs is also performed which confirms evidence of vein disease. To determine if vein disease is causing your restless legs, a compression hose trial is often used to assess improvement of your restless legs symptoms. If high-quality, graduated, medical-grade compression hose provide you relief from your restless legs, it is very likely that medical venous treatment will give you even better relief from restless legs.
Why Should I Choose Trident Vein Center?
Dr. Thomas Cunningham is a highly accomplished physician and a trailblazer in cardiovascular health. As the founder and owner of Trident Vein Center, he has established himself as a leading authority in vein care, providing exceptional treatments and delivering outstanding patient outcomes.
Dr. Cunningham’s extensive qualifications include triple board certifications in Diagnostic Radiology, Vascular and Interventional Radiology, and Venous and Lymphatic Medicine. This remarkable expertise allows him to provide comprehensive and specialized care across multiple disciplines, ensuring the highest quality and patient satisfaction.
While many doctors dabble in vein care, we treat only vein patients all day and every day. We have treated thousands of patients just like you. Trident Vein Center succeeds where others fail.
How Does Trident Vein Center Treat Vein Disease?
Ultrasound shows leaking vein valves and guides your non-surgical treatment. There is no role for surgery in vein care! Ultrasound-guided, minimally invasive treatments have revolutionized vein care over the last 15 years. Your vein procedure is virtually painless, takes less than an hour, and there is NO recovery time! Vein-related problems resolve after your leaking veins are treated.
The two procedures performed at Trident Vein for vein disease include thermal ablation and ultrasound-guided foam sclerotherapy technology which is the future of vein care available today.
Thermal ablation is the elimination of abnormal, straight veins inside the leg using a straight laser fiber or radiofrequency electrode, elegantly closing the abnormal vein and improving venous circulation in the leg. Almost every patient who is treated for lifestyle-limiting vein symptoms receives thermal ablation; however, thermal ablation can only eliminate an abnormal straight vein. Virtually every patient needs an additional procedure to properly treat invisible branch veins coming off the treated straight vein. These branch veins, hidden under the skin, ultimately feed into varicose veins hidden under the skin, as well as visible varicose veins that bulge the skin.
Ultrasound-Guided Foam Sclerotherapy (UGFS) is performed after thermal ablation at Trident Vein Center and is the future of vein care available today. Very few centers even perform UGFS, and even fewer are experts at UGFS. UGFS can eliminate all abnormal veins and was predicted by experts 15 years to replace all other forms of vein treatment! UGFS uses ultrasound to identify hidden, abnormal veins and a tiny needle is directed into the abnormal veins and special foam is injected instantly destroying the abnormal vein. Foam is absorbed by your blood in a few seconds and nothing is left behind. Your body absorbs the treated vein over several months. No surgical incision is made with UGFS and all abnormal veins can be treated. One in three new Trident Vein patients have recurrent vein problems from prior treatment performed at another vein practice. This is because these patients never received UGFS as part of their vein treatment plan, and hidden abnormal veins were left behind.
Choosing the Right Vein Care Specialist is Imperative
Not all vein doctors are equal. Modern vein treatment is not a surgical disease, and seeing a surgeon or “vascular” surgeon is no guarantee you will receive state-of-the-art vein care. What distinguishes Dr. Cunningham from other ‘vein specialists’ is the breadth of experience and skill he has in working with veins. Trident Vein Center customer satisfaction scores far exceed industry averages.
Don’t Ignore Your Leg Symptoms! Call Us Today at (615) 455-3000!
Reference:
- The effect of endovenous laser ablation on restless legs syndrome
C A Hayes 1, J R Kingsley, K R Hamby, J Carlow; PMID: 18467618; DOI: 10.1258/phleb.2007.007051
