Abstract
This is a case study of a patient with severe Parkinson’s disease which made the patient bedridden. The patient had symptoms including sensations of heat, pain, and restlessness on both of her lower legs. The symptoms appeared to be those of restless legs syndrome (RLS) . The patient reported that those symptoms of RLS were felt stronger especially after receiving moisturizer application to the lower legs after bath. A preceding study reported that relaxation effect was observed by the application of the moisturizer at the speed of 3 to 5 cm per second. Therefore, in order to verify this effect, the moisturizer was applied at the speed of 3 to 5 cm per second to the lower legs of the patient. As a result, some major changes were reported concerning the sensations of heat, pain, and restlessness of the lower legs using the Visual Analog Scale. At the same time, muscle tension clearly decreased, and the range of motion of the joints of the lower legs improved slightly after the moisturizer application.
This research did not serve as a fundamental solution to RLS, but the method used in this study can be applied as a new type of counseling or communication with the patients in clinical settings. Furthermore, since the reduction of heat, pain and restlessness was reported, this method can possibly contribute to the prevention of depression and anxiety, which are common comorbidities of RLS.
