restless leg syndrome and back surgery

[va64776]

Would lower back surgery cause restless leg syndrome. The type that you have all day?

[DrNoopurMD]

Hi,

Thanks for your post.
Back surgery has been associated with restless leg syndrome in some patients. The cause is thought to be surgery itself or prolonged immobilization in the hospital after surgery.
Some early studies had indicated spinal anesthesia during back surgery as a cause of restless leg syndrome but recent studies have refuted these claims.
Hope this helps!

[ggreg]

I'd like to add to what the good doctor has said, because I have RLS that was triggered by my bad back getting worse over the years.  Mine is like yours, 24/7 pain all the time.  I take opiate derivatives for it, stops the symptoms cold, altho the discomfort does break through, of course, from time to time.  Also, fixing my back is not an option, and I take other medicine for it, too.  I'm reasonably comfortable, so I don't want to fool with surgery at this point.  And anyhow, I'm not sure at all if fixing my back would make RLS go away... from everything I've read, once you have it, you keep it.  But I do know this, if I ever do have to have my back operated on and the RLS goes away, I'll pretty much let everyone know about it, who researches this stuff.