The effect of vibration on the severity of restless legs syndrome in hemodialysis patients

Introduction: The restless legs syndrome (RLS) is a neurological disorder in patients undergoing hemodialysis. This syndrome causes individual's disturbed rest, discomfort, and stress, and secondarily to weakened functioning and disturbance in occupational activities and familial life. Objectives: The present study aimed at investigate the effect of vibration on the severity of the manifestation of symptoms of RLS in hemodialysis patients. Patients and Methods: This is an interventional before-after study conducted on 80 patients with RLS in hemodialysis wards of Yazd hospitals. The samples were selected randomly and intervention was performed on the patients as vibration for 10 minutes three times per week during 4 succeeding weeks. The questionnaire of severity of RLS was completed before the study and at the last day of intervention before and after vibration. The data were analyzed with SPSS 23 using descriptive statistics and paired t test (P<0.05). Results: Our findings showed that most patients were at the moderate level of severity of symptoms before (68.8%) and after (78.8%) intervention and there was a significant difference in the mean score of RLS between before (18.99) and after (12.82) intervention (P=0.001). Conclusion: Based on the results of this study, it can be concluded that vibration decreases the severity of symptoms of RLS in hemodialysis patients. Hence, it is recommended that vibration be used as a cost-effective and safe procedure to improve the symptoms of RLS in this group of patients.