“Painless legs and moving toes” syndrome due to spinal cord compression

Abstract

Painful legs and moving toes is a rare syndrome characterized by spontaneous neuropathic pain in the lower limbs associated with peculiar involuntary movements of the lower extremities, especially the toes and feet. Although its origin is unknown, it is associated to some pathologies. With regard to the painless variant, very few patients have been reported and most of them are idiopathic. We report a patient with involuntary movements of the toes similar to those seen in painful legs and moving toes syndrome, but without any associated pain and due to a spinal compression. We conclude that spinal lesions may produce the painless variant as it has been reported with the painful form.