[TranquilSea]

<p>It looks like I do have compartment syndrome.  I had my pressure test on Thursday and the pressure in my anterior tibialis muscles got as high as 48 mm and were probably higher as it took the doctor a few minutes to ready the probe (boy that sounded very trekkie-ish).  It took nearly 4 minutes for the pressure to get back into a normal range.  I am being scheduled for surgery which probably won't take place for 5 months.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Throughout all this time (a year) I have been running.  Albeit on a greatly modified programme.  With this programme I stop running as soon as I feel pressure and continue when the pressure lessens.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>The doctor advised me not to run until I have the operation but when I pressed him he told me that if I was still going to run I needed to know at what point I needed to head to the emergency room.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Now I really don't want to cause acute compartment syndrome.  That would be awful.  But I <em>have</em> been running with this problem for a year and I haven't progressed it to an acute stage.  I don't want to stop but my husband wants me to stop.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Five months is a freaking long time!</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Am I crazy to even think about continuing my gimpy running programme?</p>

 

[kfuller]

<p>Sorry to hear about the injury.  Too bad they can't get the surgery sooner.  5 months is a long time.  Good luck with whatever you decide.</p>

 

[runbikesink]

<p>I have had what sounds a lot like your problem, but have never been tested for it. Mine was really bad at one point, but over time it has gotten much better. The funny thing is, when it tightened like that and felt like it was going to blow up, I would stop, move it around, wait for it to feel better and then start running again. After that it didn't  bother me again for the entire run. However, one day i was running with a group and didn't want to stop. I kept running through it for much longer than i should. I finally stopped, stretched it out, let it rest and took off again as usual. However, I ended up with a serious case of MTSS in the same spot I had it on a previous occasion. It's been over 8 months and is just now almost better. I had to cut my running way back because I would limp so bad after I ran it took several days before I could run again.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>I guess my point is, that mine has actually got better over time without any sort of medical treatment. I did wear compression sleeves for awhile, but cant really tell you if it helped or not. I wold at the very least, get a second opinion before going under the knife.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Best of luck to you!</p>
<p>runbikesink</p>

 

[TranquilSea]

<p>I actually went and saw 3 different sports medicine doctors and they all concurred that I had compartment syndrome.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>I had the surgery back in May and I'm back to running with no pain for the first time in 20 years.</p>