The ortho just finished the compartment pressure test and is recomending surgery to release the anterior and lateral compartments…says it is a relatively easy procedure and I will be back again quickly. I also saw a chiropractor yesterday who identified some serious muscle imbalances and says he is cautiosly optimistic he can fix it. I do not want to have surgery I do not need, however, I do not want to waste my time on treatments that are hopeless.
Everything I have found on the internet says conservative treatments are likely to fail.
Has anyone been diagnosed with compartment syndrome by an ortho and gotten better without surgical intervention?
Never had compartment syndrome, but have treated about dozens athletes (from the rehab side).
Now acute compartment syndrome almost always requires surgery or risk permanent injury secondary to swelling. Seen this twice. Had surgery and recovered fine.
Chronic compartment syndrome which is probably what you have - I only recall one case that did not have surgery by the time I left the university. The rest did and only recall one that had minor complications(this was bilateral and athlete would have swelling after lots of running in one leg)- she was a basketball player so lots of running is probably a lot less than most runners and triathletes. This person had surgery again on one leg and did fine. Now this info is coming from different populations, but mostly college athletes. Different states, different docs and similar prognosis.
If you are having lots of swelling, numbness, legs stay really shinny or motor function loss - Yes than surgery is probably needed, but I’m not a MD. It could be a muscle imbalance or muscle flexibility issue, but don’t delay if you could suffer permanent damage. If you are in doubt, seek another medical opinion from a sports medicine specialist.
I had compartment syndrome it took almost 2 years of BS, before I got operated on. I had it in my lower right leg. I was able to walk on it within 2 days and I started running inside of 3 weeks. I probably could have run sooner, but I was gun shy.
Whenever I started to run, my lower left leg would start hurting like hell, but it would stop once I stopped running. Also if I walked fast, it would start to hurt, but again would stop immediately when I stopped.
At first, the doctor’s though it was coming from the back (disc, pinch nerve), but you have to go to a doctor that knows running injuries. Unless you bang or injury the area, compartment syndrome is not the first thing that comes to mind.
My teenage daughter had chronic compartment syndrome in both shins from speed skating. Felt a lot like shin splints to her. Tried different therapy for a couple of years then had the surgery on both legs. Was down for a couple of weeks then took it easy for a couple of months. After that went back to full workouts with no problems. Also ran track the next season with no problems. Herd strong opinions both for and against it. This is why we tried everything else first. It was a complete success for her.
That experience is what I was hoping to avoid. Was doing both legs at once a good idea? I have the option to do that or to have two procedures. I really would like to just do it one time and then get on with healing.
Did many people try more conservative treatments before they went the surgical route? I can fully grasp how correcting imbalances could prevent future problems, I just cannot see how it will correct damage already done.
They wanted to do just one at a time to see how it worked. But we didn’t want to wait through two recoveries. We where told there really was no down side, it either worked or stayed the same. There reason for doing only one at a time was she would have only one scar if it didn’t work and she could get around better with only one recovering leg at a time instead of having both legs sore. We decided it was worth the chance just to get it over with all at once. Like I said, she wasn’t down but for a couple of days and was walking within a week. It took a little talking on our part to do both at once but in the end it couldn’t have turned out any better. Good luck with whatever you do.
The ortho just finished the compartment pressure test and is recomending surgery to release the anterior and lateral compartments…says it is a relatively easy procedure and I will be back again quickly. I also saw a chiropractor yesterday who identified some serious muscle imbalances and says he is cautiosly optimistic he can fix it. I do not want to have surgery I do not need, however, I do not want to waste my time on treatments that are hopeless.
Everything I have found on the internet says conservative treatments are likely to fail.
Has anyone been diagnosed with compartment syndrome by an ortho and gotten better without surgical intervention?
Do not Google “compartment syndrome surgery photos”
Joe, if you have had the pressure test and it has been identified as compartment then NOTHING else will fix you except a fasciotomy. Pressure test is the key, what were your numbers?
I had been battling lower leg pain for years and to cut a long story short had the test done in june and I was 44 at rest and 122 after running for a few minutes, I blew off louisville to get the bilateral fasciotomy done in july and 5 weeks later slowly started running again and had tears in my eyes. First time in my life I had ever run with no leg pain. Worth every bit of couch time I had. The surgery is simple, no complications( key is do what the doc says- you shouldn’t be running before 5 weeks) and move on. I am waay faster than I ever have been and running now in training is fun. So now in oct I can comfortably hold a 7min pace for 10-12 miles.
Glad to talk your ear off- 561-676-0848.
chris.
Neither me nor my brother could run more than 800 yards or so without stopping.
Saw some folks, diagnosed with compartment syndrome but didn’t want surgery, as i was about to give up I ran across something about overstriding.
Fixed the overstriding and problem was solved. I always think of this when people say that runners will find their own best form. My brother also stopped overstriding and he also no longer has problems.
Don’t go off thinking I was a bit of an overstrider, no I was a SERIOUS overstrider. In fact I though overstriding was how you were SUPPOSED to run.
Other than that one thing, I have never heard of conservative treatment working for it. So if you are a big time overstrider and have anterior compartment syndrome you might be in business, but if not - well good luck.
Yes, relatively benign (if there is such a thing) and common surgical procedure. Most people intuitively “know” when they are ready for the procedure. outpatient, showering/walking well within 2 weeks. Most running in around 6 weeks. Linear character scar to show the world
I am currently fighting compartments syndrome, and what has been working for me is very intense stretching and massage with “the stick” The stick has been working wonders getting all the built up junk out of my calves and is helping to stretch the fascia out giving the muscles room to swell. My uncle is an orthopedic surgeon and those were his recommendations and the last thing you want to do is get operated on. Do tons and tons of stretching and massage your calves as much as possible.
If you have an acute case, you will know something is wrong. There will be swelling, tingling or loss of sensation, pain, and possibly loss of motion. If anterior compartment is the problem which is most common in the leg and lots of swelling occur, you will be unable to bring your toes towards your shin. Your foot will be in the planter flexed or pointed position. Sometimes you will see lots of swelling where the skin will look shinny. The swelling and pain usually comes before loss of function. Chronic cases are the same sign and symptoms, but usually go away quickly.
This is how I explain compartment syndrome to others, but google term and research the topic from a good site. If you have chronic pain, see a good Sports Medicine MD or DO. Either if you have “shin splints” or compartment syndrome, a good sports person will probably be able to figure out why you are having pain and hopefully help you correct the problem.
What happens is pressure builds up in the muscle, probably due to tight fascia around the muscle, the pressure build up will decrease and maybe stop flow of blood and oxygen to nerves and muscle. This is when you get loss of sensation and tingling. In untreated acute cases, permanant damage will occur. If you think you have compartment syndrome either acute or chronic, avoid using ice to decrease pain and swelling. Ice decreases swelling by decreasing blood flow and in the swelling of **compartment syndrome, there already is decreased blood flow. Possible but rare complications of compartment syndromes are the limb may die and needs to be amputated or death. This is rare and is generally due to acute and major trauma. **
There are different compartments of the legs. Upper extremity can be affected, too.
While running today, I was think about the imbalance issue. But if your problem is the tight fascia, I’m not sure how correcting the imbalance will help. The muscle is inside the fascia. So you strengthen the muscle that is weaker and it gets bigger so the fascia is tighter. I think some people get some relief from stretching the muscle and fascia and if you have some neurological issues with balance some strengthen will help, but I still keep thinking about the compartment and facia. But I maybe wrong about strengthen the imbalance issue. I’m not a doctor. I’m the Athletic trainer that sends the athlete to the doctor and than does the rehab.
I just think most chronic cases will try conservative treatment first and would seek others medical advice before going under surgery. The surgery isn’t that bad. I observed the surgery and it is fairly simply. But I maybe wrong about strengthen the imbalance issue. Good luck with your decision.
A pressure test is definative, you either have it or you don’t. I had it in my anterior tibs on both legs and after years of a.r.t., physical therapy, dmso, stretching…whatever. It’s a mechanical problem and you need a mechanical release. Nothing will stretch the fascia and excercise on that particlar area to “strengthen” it will only aggravate by increasing the size of the muscle.
Just do the surgery and get on with your life. I had the surgery and now I can run again. The pictures are a lot worse than the operation. As they say Either You Have It or Do Not Have It"! The pressure test tells you.
I did all the PT and the only thing that worked was surgery.
