Adults who have fibromyalgia may be more likely to develop restless leg syndrome, according to findings published in the Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine.

Restless leg syndrome occurs when an individual is sleeping, and includes symptoms such as numbness, tingling and spasms in the legs.

For this study, researchers enrolled 172 people with the joint and muscle pain disorder who were an average age of 50 years, and compared them to a control group of 63 participants with a median age of 41 years. The team recorded the pain level of each individual, and then tested the amount of pressure they could tolerate on the their arms and legs.

As a result, the investigators discovered that the fibromyalgia patients were 10 times more likely to develop with restless leg syndrome compared to those in the control group. Furthermore, those who suffered from restless leg syndrome experienced constant sleep disruption.

However, sleep problems were worse among individuals with fibromyalgia.

Based on how common this problem is among people with fibromyalgia, the team concluded that physicians should monitor and treat these patients for the sleeping issue.

In 2005, an estimated 5 million people in the U.S. suffered from fibromyalgia, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.