Anyone familiar with Anterior tibial compartment syndrome from running?

[Anvilbrother 0]

Basically when I run the muscle in front of the tibia swells too much for the fascia that contains it. This causes poor circulation, EXTREME pain, pins and needles feeling in my feet, and eventually I start to drag my toes when I take strides. Once I stop running the pain goes away within minutes, but will resume if I start to run again.

From reading on the internet it says that having a trainer target the facia with massage might stretch it to allow more muscle enlargement when exercising, but majority of people have to have surgery where they cut the fascia (Fasciotomy) permanently allowing the muscle to not be encased in anything and swell unimpeded.

Any tips or help would be great!
Also I have multiple high dollar shoes that were fitted for my feet, and it only occurs while running.

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[skymama 35]

Have you tried a foam roller on the muscle? I was having extreme hip pain for about a year, so much that I stopped walking and running and even got cortizone shots. I read about a foam roller on here and heard Dr. Oz talk about one, picked one up at Target and I swear, it's changed my life. I do a few rolls on each side before and after exercising and it works like a charm. It hurts to do it though but I'm back to being able to workout on my treadmill.

She is Da Man, and you better not mess with Da Man,
because she will lay some keepdown on you faster than, well, really fast. ~Billvon

[Anvilbrother 0]

Yea I watched a you tube vid showing a guy using a foam roller and tennis ball to massage the area. That and using anti inflammatory or heat/ice is all I can think off for home remedies so far have not tried it yet tho.

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[skymama 35]

I was skeptical and made sure I saved the receipt and box it came in. I thought, with all the chiropractic work, massages, ice, heat, pain meds and shots; if they couldn't fix the pain, this giant pool noodle can't! I was so wrong. Give it a try!

She is Da Man, and you better not mess with Da Man,
because she will lay some keepdown on you faster than, well, really fast. ~Billvon

[The_Don 0]

I know it is VERY serious if it cuts off the blood to the nerves long enough. Don't fuck around with this.

See a specialist. NOW!!!

A friend ended up losing the ability to lift his foot to this.

I am NOT being loud.
I'm being enthusiastic!

[lawrocket 3]

I think it might be good to consider why the muscles are swelling in the first place. It makes sens that dorsiflexion is limited if there is no further space for the muscle to contract.

It's not a medical emergency but this sort of chronic condition can have a number of causes. It's possible, for example, that there is an injury you haven't allowed to heal that flares up (literally!) every time you run. It may need some time off to heal completely.

You may also want to ask a competent physician about the possibility of anti-inflammatories. Perhaps taking some Ibuprofen or aspirin prior to a run could have anti-inflammatory effects, but a physician may consider prescribing steroids.

I would think tha a fasciotomy would be a last resort (it's gory, heals ugly, and could require some skin grafts - no fun at all).

If you could manage the swelling in the compartment then you'll probably be having an easier time.

My wife is hotter than your wife.

[Andrewwhyte 1]

Judging from your name I am guessing that you are a bigger guy. Sometimes the answer is to recognize that running is best left to those bean pole types. Although I am not that large, I have found over the years that my feet, legs and knees are just happier if I do other types of cardio.

[tigra 0]

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Judging from your name I am guessing that you are a bigger guy. Sometimes the answer is to recognize that running is best left to those bean pole types. Although I am not that large, I have found over the years that my feet, legs and knees are just happier if I do other types of cardio.

Seriously! I have never been a runner but I got kind of shamed into signing up for an 8K run next month. I was really surprised by how much just running on a treadmill can beat me up. My feet, ankles, knees, hips and back! I can tolerate other forms of cardio really well, but the running is very challenging for me right now. I'm not that large but I have also never been small.

I'll be returning to my friend the ellpitical as soon as this run is over with!

[Heatmiser 0]

+1 I am definitely an anvil. I took to running a few years back, and lost a lot of weight with it, right up till bursitis developed in my right knee. Kindof hard to run with a knee swollen like a grape fruit. There are lower impact types of cardio that can still get your heart rate into a good range.

What you say is reflective of your knowledge...HOW ya say it is reflective of your experience. Airtwardo

Someone's going to be spanked! Hopefully, it will be me. Skymama

[Cinders 0]

Yeah, I have it.

I have chronic exertional compartment syndrome in all muscle compartments in my calves and forearms. I've had a "release" surgery on my left calf, in order to run.

My left foot does not pronate as well as my right foot, so the extra strain on the calf pushes it over the limit, causing the foot to become numb and "foot slap". Painful, too :(

They cut the fascia, releasing pressure on it. Not 100% successful, but it helped a lot. On the negative, it means if something pushes in certain spots near the surgery, I get a "pins and needles" in my leg and foot, due to the nerves that get nicked in the process of the surgery.

Things that help:
-Stretching. You will have trouble, due to the high compartment pressure, but stretching everyday helps.

-Orthotics. Have professional molds off your feet done for shoe inserts. Reduces the strain on the calf region quite a bit. Helped about 50%.

-Release surgery. Very high rate of success, though you may get the "pins and needles". I think over 90% of cases have a 100% fix. Not for me, though :(

-Running rehab, where you work on proper pronation (or supination, I forget the word) for your foot, which reduces the strain.

-Weirdest one: barefoot running. Seems we're not meant to run on our heels, but run on our forefeet, which has a near 0% collision. I don't run barefoot, but if I run sprints, I never, ever get symptoms. If I'm running on heels and I get the symptoms, I can switch to sprints and the symptoms will stop near instantly.


Avoid any goofy sounding ideas to fix it. It's a mechanical problem, so best to treat it as such imho. Nothing you can take to fix it. Stretch the fascia (stretching), avoid that level of strain that pushes you over into the symptoms, work to reduce the strain to keep it below that level which causes symptoms.

[Cinders 0]

Oh, btw, I'm not sure about that "circulation problem". I had tests run, and the circulation is never impeded, it just "goes to sleep" because the nerve is compressed.

This is not true for everyone, but maybe it applies. It FEELS like it's not getting blood, but it really is.

Did you have to get that needle test? Where they stick the giant ass needle in the muscle compartments and push saline into them to check the compartment pressure? No anesthetics. If you did, I feel your pain, lol. (If you haven't, you should get it to confirm).

Hopefully your doctor treats ECS often. If not, I would possibly look for one that does, that helped me a lot. The first 8 doctors I went to could not figure out the problem. The last one identified CECS as soon as he walked in, knew the proper tests, the ways to reduce, the "last resort" surgeries, etc.

[Anvilbrother 0]

Yea I am a big guy, but I don't believe this type of a problem is directly related to size as it is more related to the physiology involved in fascia membranes not being able to stretch enough for increased blood flow. I get these pains way before I am even sweating or breathing hard. I have never had joint or bone pains while running either.

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[Andy9o8 0]

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From reading on the internet

There's your problem right there.

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Any tips or help would be great!

This may be a bit extreme, but I'd consult a physician.

[ryoder 1,390]

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-Weirdest one: barefoot running. Seems we're not meant to run on our heels, but run on our forefeet, which has a near 0% collision. I don't run barefoot, but if I run sprints, I never, ever get symptoms. If I'm running on heels and I get the symptoms, I can switch to sprints and the symptoms will stop near instantly.

I have been reading more and more about this over the past year.
"Outside" magazine recently had an article about the shoes on the market that
eliminate the padding to make it more like barefoot running.
Just a week ago, I found this:

http://www.barefootrunning.fas.harvard.edu/

"There are only three things of value: younger women, faster airplanes, and bigger crocodiles" - Arthur Jones.

[Anvilbrother 0]

Yea I am currently talking to a great Dr. that does sports med for LSU(waiting to see what she says), but I know alot of people here are physically active, or had lots of running experience in the military, and might have had some info on this first hand.

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[tigra 0]

Quote

Quote

From reading on the internet

There's your problem right there.

Quote

Any tips or help would be great!

This may be a bit extreme, but I'd consult a physician.

I kind of figured he had since he was using the big words instead of just saying shin splints! I had to look it up!

[Cinders 0]

I feel ya :)
I'm a bigger guy, have gianormous legs and forearms. Genetic from father. On super long runs in the military, my foot would tingle, but I was young and the membranes stretched more.

As I got older (and you, too), it stretches less and less, plus your muscles thicken as you mature.

I've had to 60% give up running. I've fought that for years, raging against the machine that I won't quit it. Been running for 14 years.

I do weight lifting now, which is probably better for me. If you're naturally big, the symptoms probably come from dense, above average muscle cells, plus the fascia is not as elastic as normal people. You can get bigger than most peeps, but you won't be able to catch them! lol.

I'm down to < 5 mile jogs, sprints, cardio machines. Damn eliptic track machines still trigger my symptoms a little.

BTW, I'm working on a theory: Having giant legs, I never lifted weights with them, so they wouldn't push me into the next jean size or rub (more!) when I run/walk. I've gone to lifting them hard. My theory is perhaps if I expand the muscle/fascia that way, I could try running again. Since it's exponentially different for muscle size vs power needed to run, I'm hoping it will provide more room in the compartment if my muscles are using less "relative" strength to move me.
Only a little difference so far, but I'm unsure if it's a placebo effect. It'll take at least a year to watch for a big enough change or lack of to prove anything :)


OH! One thing that DOES help quite a bit during a run. Run until you sweat and the muscles are filled with blood, then stop and stretch. That seemed to prevent the problem about 80% of the time. Make sure you stand on the sides of your feet (like rock outwards so your standing on the edges of your feet, both at the same time, and push that way. It loosens up the lateral/anterior compartments quite a bit).

[ridestrong 1]

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I know it is VERY serious if it cuts off the blood to the nerves long enough. Don't fuck around with this.

See a specialist. NOW!!!

A friend ended up losing the ability to lift his foot to this.

He is right, you should go see a specialist.

Compartment Syndrome CAN become a medical emergency, and can require emergent surgery. In extreme cases one can lose function of their affected extremity.

*I am not afraid of dying... I am afraid of missing life.*
----Disclaimer: I don't know shit about skydiving.----

[The_Don 0]

Thank you. It can go bad VERY fast.

I saw the results & it can be prevented.

Don't play with it, you will lose.

I am NOT being loud.
I'm being enthusiastic!

[Broke 0]

Do you stretch properly after a brief warm up? Have you considered taking some Motrin before running?

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