Disclaimer regarding health-related information

I intend the material here to be interesting and valuable for medical professionals and for thoughtful people who lack medical training. 

While I quote from peer-reviewed journal articles, what I write, and my attempts to interpret and analyze the material from those articles, has not been peer-reviewed.  No matter how credible or persuasive you find one or more items of information here, other items may be highly speculative or inadequately-informed. 

Please base your healthcare decisions on a much broader understanding than you can gain from this site.

What you read at this site is not medical advice.  Medical advice is what you receive from your doctor or nurse, after they have examined you.  I am not a doctor.  Even if I were, I have not examined you!

After reading information at this site, you may choose to alter the way you care for your health, regarding nutrition, drug use, and medical interventions.  It is beyond the capability of this website to alert you to all the safety issues surrounding such decisions, in general, or for you in particular.  You will need to decide on the wisdom of changing your nutrition, health care, etc. - ideally after discussing your choices with your health care professional. 

Some of the ideas you find here are likely to be safe for most people, such as percussive massage of the lower back to help get rid of or reduce Restless Legs Syndrome / Periodic Limb Movements.  However, I can't specify exactly how firmly to do it.  For some people - especially children, the elderly or anyone with a weak or injured back - percussive massage could lead to spinal injuries.  No website can tell you how to determine who has a weak back, or exactly how to assess dangers of any treatment or non-treatment.  While motorized percussive massagers have been sold widely for many years, I know of no research on the long-term effects of such massage.

I raise concerns about the side effects and effectiveness of some prescription medications, such as the use of dopamine receptor agonists for Restless Legs Syndrome.  However, before you allow these arguments to dissuade you from taking these medications, please consider all the risks and, ideally, discuss your options with your doctor.  RLS may seem like a non-life-threatening condition, but RLS disrupts sleep and so has a profound effect on quality of life, including the possibility that tiredness may lead to deadly mistakes when driving.