compartment syndrome

[ElyDave]

Anyone had any experience of this?

One of the reasons I've almost stopped running is the reaction in my calves afterwards.  In the past I've been able to train up to 70km+ a week without issues typically something like 40km on a Sunday and 3 x 10km during the week as training for an ultra-marathon.

This week I ran 8km on Monday and my calves are still stiff and sore now despite having also done two yoga sessions since.  I never used to have this degree of stiffness for this long, so either I'm just getting old or there's something else going on. 

[Thing2]

I probably had it in 2011 - I never managed to get a firm diagnosis. To say it was painful doesn't even start to describe it. Lots of stretching and time on the foam roller eventually sorted it out, but it took a few months.

[benborp]

I have had similar problems with stiff and painful calves. The root cause turned out not to be compartment syndrome. The problem was chronic for much of my late thirties, which at the time I put down to lifestyle. After everything came to a head and I ground to a complete halt due to the principle issue of a B12 deficiency, painful calves have been something that comes and goes. I use the state of my calves as an indicator for general health now. To be honest, this may just be me making arbitrary connections between a wide range of inter-related symptoms, but as time goes by solid calves do seem to be a solid pointer and various sources report calf pain as being a symptom of B12 deficiency.

[chrisbainbridge]

ElyDave, I would be slightly surprised if this was compartment syndrome given your prior history as compartment syndrome is generally a Longterm (lifelong) condition.

I would perhaps be thinking more of an acute stiffness secondary to not running for a while?

I would probably head towards a sports massage /myofascial release in the first instance.

[ElyDave]

Chris, I don't think this is acute stiffness from not running for a while, as above, I've been subconsciously reducing my running because of this increasing stiffness.  I'm finding that I can no longer run two days in a row, even at what I would previously consider moderate distances. My modus operandi used to be to run while I was away from home, cycle and yoga when at home. 

Massage/myofascial release may help, I can do some of that myself.  I'm trying to understand / rule out any potential underlying issue here.

[chrisbainbridge]

ElyDave. I fully understand the desire to rule things out and chronic compartment syndrome is something to consider. My experi nice is in the upper limb. However the history is generally of normality in between exercise with a severe pain starting fairly soon after activity starts and increasing in intensity with use. After some time the pain becomes unbearable or the arm stops working. 5-10 minutes later the arm feels normal again.

Hope this is of some help

[giropaul]

I recently had a lot of issues with my legs, including symptoms that, if they became chronic, might have been labelled compartment syndrome.
I do have ongoing sciatica-type issues due to lower back issues, but these other issues were new to me.
Using some root-cause analysis techniques from my past, and doing a lot of research on the internet ( filtering out the more fringe elements) I came to suspect my arthritis medication. In consultation with my surgery, I have simply stopped taking the Arthritis medication ( NSAIDS).
SO FAR I think we may have cracked the issue. Upside, when riding hard I’m not getting the extreme leg issues; downside my arthritic shoulder hurts more when I’m not riding and therefore taking specific painkillers.
Lesson - read all of the huge paper that is packed with medication, and watch for side effects. Also, do your own research. My surgery employs a Pharmacist part time, and he has proved to be an excellent resource.

[ElyDave]

Thanks Paul, in my case the only drug I take is insulin. That in itself should be side effect free, but there are the preservatives as well.

Having had sciatica in the past, which is why I now do yoga, this feels different to me.  One of the other symptoms is twitching of the muscles, particularly after exercise, to the extent that they are visibly jumping. 

I guess that could be a vitamin deficiency of some kind, the last time I had the same to a massive degree was as an uncontrolled diabetic prediagnosis, due to massively high blood sugar causing overall imbalances in all sorts of other things.  My blood glucose is now very well controlled.

[barakta]

For what it's worth, anyone in the UK can go to their usual pharmacist and either seek a Medication Use Review or you can seek advice from *ANY* pharmacist 1:1 and ask about likely medication culprits for a specific side effect issue. Pharmacies have 1:1 consulting spaces for this reason.  This may be better than the leaflets which list Everything Under The Sun...

In practice you may have to wait a while if they are busy dispensing or go at a quieter time but that is a free service I recommend to my disabled students a lot.  I am also clear it can be *any* pharmacist so you can go to one who isn't your usual if that feels more reassuring.

https://www.nhs.uk/Livewell/Pharmacy/Pages/Yourpharmacy.aspx

The chances are they wouldn't be able to guarantee which of any meds an issue was with, but they may be able to help narrow something down before a GP appointment to discuss options.