Hey all, sorry I've been away for so long... The past 3 weeks have been quite scary, as my left leg has felt like the Compartment Syndrome was back and rearing its ugly head even stronger than before. The right leg, however, has been doing swimmingly, and has felt great (Interesting, due to the fact that for the majority of my recovery, the right leg lagged behind the left - moral of the story: Recovery is a fucking roller coaster). There would be a constant sort of burn/pain in my left outer shin/ankle, and going up steps would exacerbate it (although interestingly enough, jogging and biking kind of made it feel better? Anyone have any idea what the that could be?)
The surgeons and physical therapists both claimed that it is simply too early to tell if what I am feeling is an indication of the compartment syndrome coming back and the fasciotomy being a failure. I am currently about 10 weeks post-op, and they say I need another 2-3 to see where I'm at. My physical therapist even claims it might be due to weak peroneals in my left leg. Either way, I am happy to say that there has been a steady improvement over the last 4 days with regards to the left leg, and now the symptoms are just a sort of constant burning sensation over the left shin/ left foot area, but are not exacerbated by activity. I sincerely hope it is just the pains of getting better, but we shall see.
In terms of activity, I am alternating days of running about a mile and biking about 7 miles. While running, my legs feel pretty good, although I've noticed that there is an imbalance strength wise between my right and left leg (right leg is much stronger), and thus I have been instructed to go to a chiropractor to make sure my alignment isn't out of whack and throwing off my form completely. Appt. is on Wednesday, and hopefully I'll update everyone on what's going on.
That definitely sounds pretty scary. I met with a surgeon and scheduled my surgery (end of next month), and he reassured me that unless something went terribly wrong with the surgery (which we'd know right away), if CS came back afterwards, it wouldn't be worse than it was before. So it sounds like you probably still have some recovery to go.
ReplyDeleteI'm so nervous for surgery, mostly to get it over with, but also because I know I'll probably hate recovery and want to get THAT over with too ...
Hi! I've been struggling with shin issues for years as a high school and college xc/track runner, and am recovering from stress fractures right now, but am still getting some pain on my way back to running. My doctors are running out of ideas and I'd like to see another orthopedist that could give me a second opinion and do the CS test. Could you give me the names of doctors who you found helpful?
ReplyDeleteMy experience with ECS has been mixed. In my 40's I began to experience a pain in my lower legs that would proceed to numbness if I continued with the exercise - primarily walking.
ReplyDeleteAfter years of 'shin splint' diagnosis and multiple orthotics, I self diagnosed through internet research. After xrays to rule out stress fracture and mri I was finally referred to an orthopedic surgeon who performed the pressure test which confirmed the ECS diagnosis. The alternative to surgery was ceasing exercise to allow the muscles to atrophy a bit. Not an option for me.
Although I had the same issue in both legs, one would be worse than the other so I first had my left leg anterior and lateral compartment released via keyhole surgery. The recovery was quite easy (it's been a few years so it's hard to remember exactly how long it was). So when the right leg began to act up I didn't think twice about having the same procedure.
Well, it was night and day. Lots of swelling of the foot and ankle which resulted in additional time on disability. The lasting effect though has been related to a nerve being impinged upon by the scar tissue. Lots of deep tissue massage have helped but I'm left with a tightness in my foot/ankle that is annoying to painful.
Sorry to be so long winded. It was nice to read your experience Sam and some of the others. Best wishes for all to have full recovery. mac
My 21 yr old daughter had 2 compartments released in one leg and four in the other leg on June 14. We are 9 days out. Recovery is extremely painful. She is still in wheelchair and taking pain meds. She played Div I college field hockey and is a runner. We have kept the legs elevated and iced regularly --the bruising is significant and the incisions are each about 6 inches long--2 on one leg and one on the other. I hope she has full recovery and this surgery is worth it because it is tough to go through.
ReplyDeleteI had the compartment syndrome surgery Feb'2011 and still to this day have issues with both legs my surgeon says everything is fine. Fine is the burning sensation constant more painful than others and as far as activity I can walkj without my shins killing me but the buirning is unbearable.
ReplyDeleteI have had calf pain in both legs for 21years and have finally been diagnosed. 4 compartments in both legs. As I am and never have been athletic and this all started with the birth of my child. I believe the stirrups, epidural and traumatic birth has caused this. I can't believe it has taken the NHS 21yrs to refer me to orthopedics!! Now I have the decision surgery or put up with the pain! If it were keyhole I probably wld go ahead without too much concern but 2 6" cuts in both legs, mmmm. It seems from all I have read, no one is totally happy with the outcome or am I wrong?
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