Chronic Compartment Syndrome

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rduhlir
rduhlir Posts: 3,550 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Hello all...

I am looking for some advice from people who have this or have had this. While I have not yet been diagnosed...I have a feeling (a gut feeling) that this is what it is. Mainly, because it is the same pain that happens every single time I try to run.

To give you a little back ground. In boot camp (4 years ago) I developed stress fractures in the heel and toes. I still had an extreme, muscle tightening pain that would shoot up the back of my calf muscle around to the front side of my shin. I figured it was from the stress fractures...thought nothing of it.

When I tried to get back into running, that same muscle tightening pain happened, which one could guess deterred me from running. So...I swam.

Went to "A" school...where they make you run...and every single run I would develop the same pain. With each run the pain would get worse, to the point it felt like the pressure was going to cause my calf muscle to explode. 30 minutes after running...pain would go away. This would happen if I walked up the huge hills around the base as well. After 30 minutes of resting it would stop. Went to the doctors there, they diagnosed me with shin splints and gave me light duty. Went off light duty, tried to run...same thing happened...pushed threw the pain the best I could.

Stopped running for about a year. Then quit smoking (2 months yay me) thought "Hey, I want to run," and have now started the C25K program. Everything has been going well until last night, week 5 day 3, where the run is 20 minutes straight. I have been taking it slow, running on a treadmill at 4.5. I make sure I am not heel striking, got fitted for shoes. Last night it felt like my calf muscle was going to explode out of my leg and I got that same quarter sized bulge in the front of my leg. After doing research today, I have a pretty good feeling it is Chronic Exertional Compartment Syndrome.

I want to run...I want to like running. Up until last night I was loving C25K...I was loving how running made me feel and the high I got at the end of it.

So...has anyone else been able to correct this issue without surgery or is surgery looking at my only option? While I could do physical theropy, with my job and the hours I work and when I work might be an issue. Is cutting my leg open completely the only option? Or can they do this microscopicly? Any information someone could give me will be great for when I go into the doctor and say "Listen, this isn't shin splints...something else is wrong."

Keep in mind I have to go to military doctors...so I have to be much more stern with my problems than with civilian doctors (just from my experience with the two).

Replies

  • rduhlir
    rduhlir Posts: 3,550 Member
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    Bump
  • cuterbee
    cuterbee Posts: 545
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    Really, what you need to do is visit your doctor. I don't think compartment syndrome is your only option here, but your doc (or whatever specialist your doc sends you to) will have far more information about your particular case than we will.
  • meggyannpt
    meggyannpt Posts: 73 Member
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    Go see your doctor. *If* it is compartment syndrome, you don't want to mess around with it.
  • gtreyger
    gtreyger Posts: 25
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    Get an appointment to your PCM, and request a referral to orthopedic surgeon. The only symptom of Exercise Induced Compartment Syndrome that you're missing is numbness and tingling in your feet/toes during and after exertion. Once you're diagnosed, they'll cut you open, and fix you right up!

    To be honest with you, if my service allowed me to swim my PRT instead of running it, I would NEVER run! :-)
  • sdbart
    sdbart Posts: 189 Member
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    Go to your Doc and get diagnosed! As former corpsman I know how important a diagnosis is. When you get out/retire you want this on your record for disability. I have been out and I get 50% disability I get free medical care from the VA hospital here in MN and I get Vocational rehab. Anyways, besides the benefit of the diagnosis, you need to be treated properly to get healthy again.
  • clb922
    clb922 Posts: 13 Member
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    My husband's gradually got worse. He had the surgery, and it was not like they said it would be. The "2 inch incision" was more like 8 inches in both legs. He has had NO trouble since and just said it was the best decision he ever made:) We love his doctor, because his emphasis is sports med. My only advice is basically what everyone else has said....find a good doctor that you trust.... You are welcome to message me if you had some more specific questions you would like him to answer about the hospital stay or surgery. Good luck!
  • bumblebums
    bumblebums Posts: 2,181 Member
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    I agree about getting a diagnosis, and you should also have a sports medicine specialist evaluate your running biomechanics. There may be a problem with how you run that goes beyond heel-first striking.

    Do you give yourself plenty of rest days? Also, do you do any strengthening/resistance exercises in addition to running? I recently started doing calf raises with added weight (like, one 45 lb weight plate in each hand) to strengthen my calves... They might also prescribe myofascial release for you. I wouldn't do either strengthening exercises or any type of massage without consulting a doctor, though--you could do more harm than good. Good luck!
  • GoTeamMeaghan
    GoTeamMeaghan Posts: 347 Member
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    I would say first, go see your dr. Second, maybe try using an eliptical instead of a treadmill-maybe removing the impact will help.
  • rduhlir
    rduhlir Posts: 3,550 Member
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    Thanks for the advice all...very much appreciated!
  • EDesq
    EDesq Posts: 1,527 Member
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    WALK!!! people love running but it is one of the WORSE exercises on Earth!Have you seen OLD Runners, and NOW Not so old runners. The ARTHRITIS, Pain, Joint Replacements! I Thought "we" were in THIS for GOOD HEALTH; when an exercise does These things as a result of its practice, that's as bad as carrying around 300 lbs on yourself for 30 yrs. I know...Ran Cross Country in High School and College, and after. NOW, I need hip and knee replacements!!!

    Stop following the crowd, find a HEALTHY exercise, and age without pain and decay. LISTEN to Your Body, it is telling you it can not take that. If you keep forcing it, you might find yourself in a Scooter before 40 yrs. old!!!
  • k_sinc
    k_sinc Posts: 39
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    My partner has Compartment Syndrome... He's been in the defence force 8 years and it's probably a combination of him being overweight, and the boots they wear day and night... He couldn't run, he could only walk, and only for a certain period of time before he was in pain. He was told he'd require surgery and was taking all sorts of medication for the pain.

    He recently returned from Afghanistan half the size he was when he left, is now running & doesn't have many problems with his legs at all. He woke up one day during the deployment and said "I can do this"... lost a whole bunch of weight from spending hours on the treadmill and watching his nutrition... he will be sore from time to time but instead of having all bad days with the odd good day we now have all good days with a rare bad leg day.

    Best advice I could give would be to invest in some quality runners & inserts for your work shoes, keep a close eye on it with your doctor and keep active.
  • k_sinc
    k_sinc Posts: 39
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    Also I agree with the above - Walking is best, Running will do damage. If you're in the services you need to get them to diagnose you because chances are it's caused by the job & they should be taking care of your medical business and also it will affect you come retirement.
  • SailerSiren13
    SailerSiren13 Posts: 51 Member
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    I have been diagnosed and am having surgery in two days for compartment syndrome in my left leg. The surgery is being done by a military doctor as well. I started having issues a year ago and it has taken up until February to get diagnosed. I have not had any previous issues except for poor circulation before last March. Feel free to friend me i could really use a friend that knows what i'm going through.
  • TheLittleGingerDoesWeightLoss
    TheLittleGingerDoesWeightLoss Posts: 66 Member
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    Get an appointment to your PCM, and request a referral to orthopedic surgeon. The only symptom of Exercise Induced Compartment Syndrome that you're missing is numbness and tingling in your feet/toes during and after exertion. Once you're diagnosed, they'll cut you open, and fix you right up!

    To be honest with you, if my service allowed me to swim my PRT instead of running it, I would NEVER run! :-)

    Owning my disagree on this. I never had the numbness and tingling after running and I have the condition. It's not an all or nothing thing.
  • Laura42012
    Laura42012 Posts: 180 Member
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    Just make sure the doctor is sympathetic to fitness desires. Some chuckle heads will not put forth the effort to try to rectify it and simply tell you to stop what's hurting you, when it can be fixed.
  • TheLittleGingerDoesWeightLoss
    TheLittleGingerDoesWeightLoss Posts: 66 Member
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    Good luck to you on this! There are a lot of other things that may be wrong, so you might be jumping to the worst too quickly. But since you say that it feels better after stopping then it probably is CECS. That is how I was. I would go eight minutes into a workout and then my legs just felt like they were cramping horribly. I felt like I needed to stretch and then run, but this did not help. My sports medicine doctor listened to my symptoms and told me I had the textbook symptoms for CECS. Had the pressure test done and three out of my four compartments tested positive for the condition before I had even ran. The fourth was positive after running. I had the fasciotomy done on my leg and, as surgeries go, it's not bad. Granted, I was on crutches for two weeks, but that's not so bad and some doctors try to take you off of them sooner.

    I spoke to my doctor about other options than surgery, but he had stated that surgery is the best option and that he had only one patient that had a reoccurance of symptoms and this was due to the fact that scar tissue had healed over the fasciotomy site.

    I had CECS symptoms that occurred while I walked! I live on a college campus and it is so frustrating to go to class and have to stop and stretch and rest. My running SEEMS to be better, but walking seems to bring back my symptoms and at a short distance no less. My doctor is concerned that I need to redo the surgery so we are trying other mediums of treatment such as rehab, massage, electrical stimulation. I think I am a rare case. I am also a rare case to my doctor because I am the only second female he has had to treat for this versus the hundreds of male patients he has treated.

    It seems the general consensus is that surgery is highly successful. I hope you find the answers you are looking for! Definitely go in for a diagnosis and get the pressure test. Also, don't look up the video of the test on Youtube. If you do, please know that it is not painful and as someone who is a big baby when it comes to pain, I can tell you I had no pain when I had the test done.

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