Anyone have experience with Compartment Syndrome?

stephaniep12345mfp

I've had problems on and off with shin splints since I ran track in high school, and I recently got so frustrated when they flared back up again that I went to see my doctor. She prescribed Naproxen and sent me to a physical therapist. The Naproxen seems to be helping, but I can't stay on that forever so today I went to PT. I described my symptoms, and he said he isn't sure it's shin splints after all and that one thing I should keep in the back of my mind is something called Compartment Syndrome. He explained it a little, and while he can't say for sure that's what I have and he said he wasn't trying to scare me, it sounds pretty scary and I'd want to know if I have it.

Anyone know anything about it?

Prettylittlelotus

I went to the doctor once because I had a bad cough and it wasn't going away. One of the doctors, not my regular, came in and listened to my lungs. He asked, "Have you ever been tested for asthma before?" "No, should I be concerned that I have asthma?" He proceeded to explain to me that my lungs sounded "fuzzy" and that I could have a very rare form of asthma that doesn't present itself until adulthood. At this point, I'm a little freaked out, but then my regular doctor comes in. She listens to my lungs and I told her what the other doctor has said. She had a slight smirk on her face, and said "Sometimes the simplest explanation is the correct one." she told me I most likely had walking pneumonia left over from a recent flu. She had me get an X-ray and sure enough, I had pneumonia in both my lungs. It turns out the first doctor just got out of med school and had all his case studies floating through his head. He wanted it to be the most interesting case, but it was just routine pneumonia.

I'm not a doctor, and don't claim to be, but I looked up compartment syndrome. "The hallmark symptom of compartment syndrome is severe pain that does not go away when you take pain medicine or raise the affected area." Are you having pain all the time, or just when you run? Also, is your physical therapist a doctor? I've never met an MD physical therapist but I am sure they are out there. I would get a second opinion for sure, and don't let someone freak you out, especially if they aren't qualified to make a diagnosis like that.

Good luck and I really hope you don't have compartment syndrome!