Quick Updates on progress and recovery after compartment syndrome surgery

Hey all, the primary problem seems to be awesome. My shin/calf/entire lower legs feel great, and my back pain has completely subsided.  Only problem is, I still have this lingering left knee issue (possibly patellofemoral syndrome) that I have not been able to shake.  It has been making progress, and I hope to start running again within the next two weeks, to really be able to test out if the CS is completely gone.But besides for the left knee, my legs do feel great.

Strides and Set Backs

CS type pain that I talked about last post has basically subsided - Unfortunately, I have come down with an annoying case of what has been diagnosed as patellofemoral pain syndrome in my left leg - It's a problem with the knee - Anyone else have any experience with it?  Otherwise, I do feel like I'm on the verge of a big breakthrough - Physical therapist and surgeon says a lot of cases resolve in 4 weeks, so I'll keep you guys updated!

Ups and Downs - Running, Biking, and Some Pain in Between

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.

Numbness in Right Leg - Updated Good News

Also, just a quick update on the numbness I have felt in the lower inside area of my right shin, as detailed here - It has been gradually improving, and a large percentage of the numbness has dissipated. There is still a line of numbness, but it has been getting gradually smaller for the last couple of weeks, and has no effect on day to day activities.

Updates - Recovery and Physical Therapy

Hey all, just a quick update - Have progressed to doing squats (extremely sore! In a good way though) and heel raises throughout the day pain free which is awesome - Pre-surgery those could simply not be done without the compartment syndrome high pressures stopping me ... tightness in the calf is abating more and more every day - This Monday I start bike and massage and I'll post how it feels....

Days 1-4 post-op fasciotomy - Recovery Begins

For the first 4 days, everything was going alright. I was slowly able to progress from barely being able to lift my feet off the ground to being able to do some nice heel to toe strikes. On day 3, I was told that I was allowed to switch from the four-point crutch gait to the two point, which allowed for much greater mobility. Whenever I was laying down, (which I probably was 90 percent of the day), I would have my feet steeply elevated and be icing. After my second night sleeping on the first floor, I moved up to the second, and while a flight of stairs is certainly not easy, there wasn't any major problems or pain from doing it.

Starting on Day 3 -Three times a day, for about 5 minutes, I alternatively lift both legs in the air and do a couple sets of twenty ankle pumps, but quite lightly, as I was told it is important not to push anything, as the body is recuperating. By day 4, I was moving around the house without crutches, and even was able to drive to the post office to mail something. The doctor said that on walks that are longer than those one would typically take around the house, crutches should be used until day 7-8.

In terms of physical therapy, my surgeon told to me that under no circumstances should I begin any kind of PT before my post-op appointment on April 12th.
So far, no swelling or numbness to report, and I keep ace bandages on both legs tightly wrapped - Step by step, my recovery is taking shape.....

Fasciotomy Pre-Op Appointment - Cautiously Optimistic

Finally it came to the day I was looking forward to for a couple weeks. When I got called at the office, a fellow who works with the surgeon came in to take my history, and ask if there were any problems, etc. I explained to him that over the last couple weeks I had started to feel the effects of CS even when I was not exercising, as it manifested itself in a sort of uncomfortable, not getting great circulation feeling in my legs. He explained that this was not crazy, and sometimes is how compartment syndrome progresses.

Then the surgeon came in. He explained to me that even though I had only three compartments test positive for compartment syndrome, he thought it would be best to release all 4 on each leg. I asked him the reasoning for this, and he explained his reasoning: 1. I had explained to him that most of the pain I felt during running was actually in the lateral area, and thus he thought it would be foolish to leave the compartment alone and 2. He told me that there have been lots of cases where people get 1,2, or 3 compartments released and then are symptomatic later on for the fourth and have to have surgery all over again, so it was safer to release all 4 compartments in this case.

I was worried, however, that this would make the procedure a little more risky, just from the logic that the more compartments you mess around with, the more random things can go wrong. He responded that the releasing of the lateral compartment did not significantly compromise the success of the surgery, and that the benefits of doing so far outweighed the risks.

Then, on to success rates. The doctor told me that 90% of his patients experience full recovery, meaning they are able to achieve athletic performance levels that are commensurate with how their performance levels were pre-onset of exertional compartment syndrome. While in the grand scheme of things, that is not as high as I would like, after reading the literature and looking at online forums, it unfortunately seems that that is the best you are going to get. Plus, I would like to think that since I am still relatively young, my chances will be good.

In terms of a recovery timetable, my surgeon said at 4-6 weeks I could begin to do cycling, 6-8, running, and at about 10-12, I should be nearing full recovery. While that is a substantial amount of time, I really don't care in the slightest if I will finally be able to do the things I love for the first time in a long while.

The surgeon also said he would be sending me for an MRI just to rule out vascular restriction in my legs, as apparently that sometimes causes compartment syndrome-like symptoms. With that, I thanked him profusely, and barring a rare case of vascular restriction, was set to go under the knife!