I’ve been diagnosed with this after not being able to run for 4.5 months and going through every sort of treatment (massage, Graston, PT, ART, dry needling, etc) with no results. I’m scheduled to have a nerve release surgery. Anybody have any experience with this or know anything about the success rate of this procedure?
I was having problems with my lower left leg a few years back. Something was keeping me from turning my left foot out. I felt like I was running with my left foot pigeon toed. I was diagnosed with a few different things and I had surgery scheduled. I decided to get a second opinion. This Doc did an EMG test and found that it was my sciatic nerve causing the problem. With a little therapy and a shot in my lower back it went away. Have you had an EMG test?
No EMG test yet, but I have had a sharp pain in my lower back on the same side since this all started. Will definitely look into it. What kind of shot was it? Cortisone?
I’ve been diagnosed with this after not being able to run for 4.5 months and going through every sort of treatment (massage, Graston, PT, ART, dry needling, etc) with no results. I’m scheduled to have a nerve release surgery. Anybody have any experience with this or know anything about the success rate of this procedure?
Define not being able to run–what happened exactly?
I had done a long run on Saturday and felt great and then sunday I did a two hour ride and went to do a short brick afterwards, but only made it about .75 miles before I got a really sharp pain in my calf (right at about the fibular head). For about 3 months after that, i couldn’t run for more than about 10 min without getting that really sharp pain in my calf (I also have a sharp pain in my low back that has been constant since the injury). For the past month, I have been able to run up to 5 miles without getting the sharp pain, but I still have a lot of tightness and dull pain in my leg and the sharp pain in my back. It is still definitely limiting what I am able to do.
Yes it was a cortizone shot.
I’m afraid I don’t have any great solutions for you–just making sure it wasn’t a missed diagnosis of something in my specialty. Doesn’t sound like it. 
Best of luck, and I hope you’re back at it soon.
Hey man. First off, sorry to hear that you are going through this. I can absolutely empathize. About 2 years ago I had very similar symptoms, calf pain and tightness, etc. I also had a lack of blood-flow to my lower legs (e.g., below the calves) as evidenced by coloration during workouts, skin temperature, and even some slow healing sores. I was diagnosed with something quite rare called Popliteal Artery/Vein Entrapment Syndrome. Basically, my calf muscle had a “3rd head” (most only have two, this was an anatomical abnormality) and this “3rd head” had grown and was compressing my Popliteal artery and vein whenever I plantar-flexed (e.g., toes pointed down). Was told to get immediate surgery. I actually was all signed up and thrilled to finally have a diagnosis before my mother (yup, I said it, moms know best) intervened and basically told me not to jump the gun so fast. After looking more into the surgery, found out it would require a sizable incision from the back of my knee up to my hamstring, and long story short, the more I learned, the more it sounded like the surgery had the potential to do more harm than good.
So, I here started my tour of second and third opinions, and eventually I found a doc that specializes in this thing, who also happened to be an endurance athlete. His solution, change my bike fit so that my toes were not in plantar flexion and take 1 month off of training completely, then monitor the area with ultrasound (which can gauge blood flow) every 6 months thereafter. Problem solved. Turns out my bike fit had me really pulling up on the pedals hard which had caused this “3rd head” to hypertrophy to a point where there literally wasn’t enough room for it in my leg. The month off allowed it to atrophy, and the changed fit, although less aggressive, keeps me out of plantar flexion where that muscle is not largely used. I avoided the surgery, and am able to train and race competitively. I still have to be extra cautious with foam rolling, stretching, and massage in that area given the fascia there can get very tight still and cause vascular issues, but long story short, this is something I fixed behaviorally, not surgically.
Now I’m not saying that you may have this issue, but the take-away is think creatively and look at stones far outside of the healthcare realm (e.g., bike fit) before jumping into surgery. If you do need the surgery, goes without saying to look at volume data, and if available, outcomes data and find the guy that has not only done this a lot but also done this in athletes where “success” means a return to triathlon training, not just a freed up nerve.
Good luck to you.