Chronic lumbar paraspinal compartment syndrome
Has anyone experienced chronic exertional compartment syndrome–type symptoms in the lower back/paraspinals?
I previously had confirmed CECS in my shins and surgery fixed it completely. Now I’ve been struggling for ~6 months with a very similar feeling in my lower back, especially during running , soccer and gym exercises. No symptons in rest exept a bit of thightness sometimes.
The symptoms are not sharp pain. It starts as a pressure/tightness/pump sensation in the muscles beside my spine, then builds rapidly with intensity until it becomes painful and feels like my back is locking up or mechanically failing. It honestly feels like doing endless bicep curls with my lower back.
The weird parts is that
- MRI was clean
- CT scan clean
- rehab hasn’t helped (Rest + Glute/abdominal work)
- strong painkillers barely change anything
- symptoms improve very quickly (~5 min) after stopping activity
It feels extremely similar to my previous CECS symptoms in the legs.
I know lumbar/paraspinal CECS is considered very rare, but has anyone dealt with something similar, gotten tested, or found a diagnosis that explained this type of painful “back pump” during activity?