2025 ICD-10-CM Diagnosis Code G25.81
Restless legs syndrome
- ICD-10-CM Code:
- G25.81
- ICD-10 Code for:
- Restless legs syndrome
- Is Billable?
- Yes - Valid for Submission
- Chronic Condition Indicator: [1]
- Chronic
- Code Navigator:
G25.81 is a billable diagnosis code used to specify a medical diagnosis of restless legs syndrome. The code is valid during the current fiscal year for the submission of HIPAA-covered transactions from October 01, 2024 through September 30, 2025.
Approximate Synonyms
The following list of clinical terms are approximate synonyms, alternative descriptions, or common phrases that might be used by patients, healthcare providers, or medical coders to describe the same condition. These synonyms and related diagnosis terms are often used when searching for an ICD-10 code, especially when the exact medical terminology is unclear. Whether you're looking for lay terms, similar diagnosis names, or common language alternatives, this list can help guide you to the correct ICD-10 classification.
- Restless leg syndrome due to iron deficiency anemia
- Restless leg syndrome due to uremia
- Restless leg syndrome in pregnancy
- Restless legs
- Restless legs
- Restless legs
- Restless legs
- Secondary restless legs syndrome
- Secondary restless legs syndrome
- Secondary restless legs syndrome
- Sleep related movement disorder
- Sleep related movement disorder
- Sleep related movement disorder
- Sleep related movement disorder
- Sleep related movement disorder
Clinical Classification
Clinical Classifications group individual ICD-10-CM diagnosis codes into broader, clinically meaningful categories. These categories help simplify complex data by organizing related conditions under common clinical themes.
They are especially useful for data analysis, reporting, and clinical decision-making. Even when diagnosis codes differ, similar conditions can be grouped together based on their clinical relevance. Each category is assigned a unique CCSR code that represents a specific clinical concept, often tied to a body system or medical specialty.
Other nervous system disorders (often hereditary or degenerative)
CCSR Code: NVS006
Inpatient Default: N - Not default inpatient assignment for principal diagnosis or first-listed diagnosis.
Outpatient Default: N - Not default outpatient assignment for principal diagnosis or first-listed diagnosis.
Sleep wake disorders
CCSR Code: NVS016
Inpatient Default: Y - Yes, default inpatient assignment for principal diagnosis or first-listed diagnosis.
Outpatient Default: Y - Yes, default outpatient assignment for principal diagnosis or first-listed diagnosis.
Clinical Information
Restless Legs Syndrome
a disorder characterized by aching or burning sensations in the lower and rarely the upper extremities that occur prior to sleep or may awaken the patient from sleep.
Index to Diseases and Injuries References
The following annotation back-references for this diagnosis code are found in the injuries and diseases index. The Index to Diseases and Injuries is an alphabetical listing of medical terms, with each term mapped to one or more ICD-10-CM code(s).
- - Ekbom's syndrome (restless legs) - G25.81
- - Restless legs (syndrome) - G25.81
- - Syndrome - See Also: Disease;
- - restless legs - G25.81
Convert G25.81 to ICD-9-CM
Below are the ICD-9 codes that most closely match this ICD-10 code, based on the General Equivalence Mappings (GEMs). This ICD-10 to ICD-9 crosswalk tool is helpful for coders who need to reference legacy diagnosis codes for audits, historical claims, or approximate code comparisons.
Restless legs syndrome
ICD-9-CM: 333.94
This is a direct match with no additional mapping qualifiers. The absence of a flag generally means the mapping is considered exact or precise. In other words, the ICD-10 code maps cleanly to the ICD-9 code without qualification, approximation, or needing multiple codes.
Patient Education
Restless Legs
Restless legs syndrome (RLS) causes a powerful urge to move your legs. Your legs become uncomfortable when you are lying down or sitting. Some people describe it as a creeping, crawling, tingling, or burning sensation. Moving makes your legs feel better, but not for long. RLS can make it hard to fall asleep and stay asleep.
In most cases, there is no known cause for RLS. In other cases, RLS is caused by a disease or condition, such as anemia or pregnancy. Some medicines can also cause temporary RLS. Caffeine, tobacco, and alcohol may make symptoms worse.
Lifestyle changes, such as regular sleep habits, relaxation techniques, and moderate exercise during the day can help. If those don't work, medicines may reduce the symptoms of RLS.
Most people with RLS also have a condition called periodic limb movement disorder (PLMD). PLMD is a condition in which a person's legs twitch or jerk uncontrollably, usually during sleep. PLMD and RLS can also affect the arms.
NIH: National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute
[Learn More in MedlinePlus]
Restless legs syndrome
Restless legs syndrome is a neurological condition that causes an irresistible urge to move the legs. The movement is triggered by strange or uncomfortable feelings, often described as crawling, pulling, or itching, deep within both legs. The feelings usually occur while the affected person is sitting or lying down and are worse at night. Movement, such as kicking, stretching, rubbing, or pacing, make the discomfort go away, at least temporarily. The unpleasant feelings and the resulting need to move the legs often make it difficult for an affected person to fall asleep or stay asleep.
The signs and symptoms of restless legs syndrome range from mild to severe; people with mild cases may experience symptoms a few times a month, while those with more severe cases may have symptoms every night. In severe cases, the uncomfortable feelings can affect the arms or other parts of the body in addition to the legs.
Many people with restless legs syndrome also experience uncontrollable, repetitive leg movements that occur while they are sleeping or while relaxed or drowsy. When these movements occur during sleep, they are called periodic limb movements of sleep (PLMS); when they occur while a person is awake, they are called periodic limb movements of wakefulness (PLMW). It is unclear whether PLMS and PLMW are features of restless legs syndrome itself or represent similar, but separate, conditions.
Restless legs syndrome and PLMS can affect the quality and amount of sleep. As a result of these conditions, affected individuals may have difficulty concentrating during the day, and some develop mood swings, depression, or other health problems.
Researchers have described early-onset and late-onset forms of restless legs syndrome. The early-onset form begins before age 45, and sometimes as early as childhood. The signs and symptoms of this form usually worsen slowly with time. The late-onset form begins after age 45, and its signs and symptoms tend to worsen more rapidly.
[Learn More in MedlinePlus]
Code History
- FY 2024 - No Change, effective from 10/1/2023 through 9/30/2024
- FY 2023 - No Change, effective from 10/1/2022 through 9/30/2023
- FY 2022 - No Change, effective from 10/1/2021 through 9/30/2022
- FY 2021 - No Change, effective from 10/1/2020 through 9/30/2021
- FY 2020 - No Change, effective from 10/1/2019 through 9/30/2020
- FY 2019 - No Change, effective from 10/1/2018 through 9/30/2019
- FY 2018 - No Change, effective from 10/1/2017 through 9/30/2018
- FY 2017 - No Change, effective from 10/1/2016 through 9/30/2017
- FY 2016 - New Code, effective from 10/1/2015 through 9/30/2016. This was the first year ICD-10-CM was implemented into the HIPAA code set.
Footnotes
[1] Chronic - a chronic condition code indicates a condition lasting 12 months or longer and its effect on the patient based on one or both of the following criteria:
- The condition results in the need for ongoing intervention with medical products,treatment, services, and special equipment
- The condition places limitations on self-care, independent living, and social interactions.
