Descriptors of restless legs syndrome sensations.

Background: Restless legs syndrome (RLS) is characterised by an urge to move in response to unusual sensations in the legs. Patients experience difficulty describing their RLS sensations, resulting in a diverse range of descriptors which have not been fully categorised. The purpose of this study was to describe RLS sensations and to evaluate the accuracy of current diagnostic descriptors.

Methods: Forty-one RLS participants completed an interview which involved: providing spontaneous descriptions of RLS sensations, completing the McGill Pain Questionnaire (MPQ), and selecting descriptors from a list of previously published RLS terms (prompted descriptors).

Results: The most frequent spontaneous descriptors were: "irritating" (17%), "painful" (17%), and "urge to move" (24%); prompted descriptors were: "restless" (88%), "uncomfortable" (78%), and "need to stretch" (76%); and MPQ words were: "tingling" (56%) and "jumping" (54%).

Discussion: The most frequently cited descriptors in this study differ from the terminology used in the RLS diagnostic criteria. Inclusion of these frequently used descriptors may improve the diagnostic accuracy of RLS. Our data emphasise the need for an international, large scale, multicultural study to determine the most accurate diagnostic descriptors to define RLS more clearly.