But...the good news is that we may have an answer for the shins--Chronic Compartment Syndrome. Basically the muscles in the shins swell with exercise and the fascia that surrounds the compartment is too small to accommodate the swelling. So, the muscles push on nerves and cause lots of pain. I went to a specialist and she wanted to rule over thing else out before doing the "official" test for compartment syndrome (since it is painful). The ruling out has been done, so the only thing left is the painful testing. I have the test on July 23rd. I wish that I could have it earlier but the specialist is going to be out of the country serving as the team doctor for some summer games in Belgrade.
The testing sounds pretty uncomfortable. Needles are put in the shins to measure pressure. The doctor tests at rest and then will have me run to make my shins hurt and test again. Sounds fun huh? Apparently the test is painful, which is why the doctor likes to rule out everything before doing it. She said that since she is so thorough in the ruling out procedure that she has only had 2 patients that were tested for compartment syndrome and did not have it. So...changes are, I have compartment syndrome.
The good news is that it is treatable. The bad news is that the treatment is surgery. It seems like a relatively simple procedure, so at least that is good. I assume that I will have the surgery as soon as I can after the diagnosis so that I can get on with training! Whewww....frustrating!!
6 comments:
Ouch!!! That sounds very cruel. You've probably already done this, but have you gotten a new pair of running shoes to see if that helps? When my shins start hurting that's when I know I need a new pari of shoes, and then everything gets better.
It'd be nice if this was that easy for you!
I have tried about everything. New shoes, acupuncture massage, creams, supplements, injections, went to a PT, etc. with very little relief. Grrrr....
UGH!!!!!!!!!!! Owie!!!!!!!!!
I hope it doesn't hurt too bad for you! Good luck!
Boo to painful tests! I hope that after all of this you can get back into training.
Stacey
Yikes..sounds lovely. If this turns out to be the correct dx is there ANY other treatment available other than surgery? What kind of guarantees go along with that procedure? What causes this syndrome? F it seems totally sucky but I hope you find some relief.
Jeez Lisa don't you have enough on your plate? You'd think so.
Sending along some good vibes!
Give my best to Gess
Thanks everyone.
Tina--I have already tried the "conservative" treatments (rest, ice, massage, etc.). So at this point, the only real option (besides not running--which is not an option), is the surgery. They don't know what causes this sort of thing--just funky anatomy. I have had this problem since I was a teenager, I just stopped doing things that aggravated it for a long time. But now I am not willing to give those things up. So... I know, it is a lot. Maybe we are just getting all of the drama out of the way :)
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