DR. JOHN'S CASE NOTES 

Bridge players , especially the men , can be a fidgety lot. Constantly shuffling around in their seats. Strumming fingers. Scratching their faces . Bending forwards and leaning back. But one group in particular are afflicted with a little known disorder called the Restless Legs Syndrome.
This condition does have a neurological cause , where misfiring brain cells compel sufferers to engage in non-stop, automaton-like movement of their legs. 
In many instances legs just twitch , shake or gently bounce up and down. However , in other cases victims find themselves having to repeatedly reposition their legs , either crossing and uncrossing them , or stretching them out and pulling them in. In fact all those players diagnosed with RLS aren't happy unless their legs are moving about in some way or another. With no blame ever attached to the chairs they sit on, victims of this syndrome are never able to maintain a settled position when sitting down to play. They are never able to feel comfortable or at ease. It is almost as though they hate the idea of " having " to sit still in an impassive and statuesque way. 
Chronic sufferers get so uptight about being confined to a chair for even short periods, they will use every opportunity to get up and go on a walkabout. Only then can they feel free of their stress and anxiety. Excuses given include going for a leak, going to the bar, or going outside for a breath of fresh air or that crafty fag.
Sadly, non-sufferers see players with RLS are " fidget arses " , who might well have ants in their pants , or lice  and fleas about their bodies, such is the ignorance of this rather debilitating condition. Indeed, I remember once partnering someone who was forever stretching either one of his legs ( occasionally spread-eagling both ) out at right-angles from his chair. His long legs would hang out so far that people passing by his table would trip over them. Needless to say he got banned from the club by the hard-line committee, who refused to accept that his behaviour was not deliberate , but an unfortunate consequence of his neurological condition.