What do restless legs mean?
Restless legs, also known as Restless Legs Syndrome (RLS), are experienced when you regularly have the urge to move your legs, for example after sitting for a long time, before going to sleep or while sleeping. Although the feeling is very unpleasant, it is not worrying. Restless legs are often hereditary and can be caused by factors such as little exercise, obesity, smoking and alcohol consumption. However, this does not always have to be the case.
Treating restless legs
Not much is known yet about restless legs. For smokers and regular drinkers, the advice is of course obvious. In any case, regular exercise is recommended, because it stimulates the calf muscle pumping effect. Medicines are often used to reduce the symptoms of restless legs; please contact your doctor for this.
In addition, compression socks can make a useful contribution to reducing these complaints. The Herzog Support Compression Socks are most suitable for this. These socks have a slightly lower compression than the Herzog PRO socks, which means that you can also wear them while sleeping without the compression being too strong.
How the calf muscle pump works
To reduce restless legs, it is important to keep the calf muscle pump active. Blood vessels function optimally when the muscles in the legs are regularly contracted rhythmically, such as when walking. This is known as the action of the calf muscle pump. This ensures that the blood is efficiently drained towards the heart. If there is little movement and the veins do not get enough help from the regularly contracting leg muscles, this becomes more difficult. The waste products in the blood are then insufficiently removed.
