r/CECompartmentSyndrome

Hi everyone, here's what I'm experiencing:

• 60 yrs old
• Cyclist for 35 years, switched exclusively to running a few months ago
• 12-15 miles weekly, 3-4 runs a week
• On the day *after* a long tempo or threshold run with hills, I get intense pain in the posterior right calf. Nothing on the left. Has happened half a dozen times, and within 5 minutes of getting up in the morning
• Pain does not happen during the run
• The pain level seems to be diminishing, but this morning's episode lasted a few hours before fading
• I never had this happen during the years I cycled, or the brief breaks I took in the past to run instead of ride

Does this sound like CECS to you?

Hey all—
Just had bilateral fasciotomy on my feet and am 24 hours op.

I have a lot of tingling in my feet and was the told the nerve block was only supposed to last 12 hours. My feet feel numb, buzzing, tingling. Has anyone felt this way and how long did it last?

Thanks. And yes, I have contacted my doctor already about it.

Both my consultant and physio agree that physio won't help with CECS. I kind of understand the idea behind CECS but I don't really understand why physical therapies can't help. The reason why this makes no sense to me is because why would a compartment which was previously fine suddenly become a problem? CECS isn't something a person is born with. So whatever caused the fascia to become restricting or the muscle to swell too much (or whatever CECS actually is- help me out here!) -couldn't that be reversed? Showing my ignorance here, I know.

I feel like this is one of those medical conditions which in a hundred years time doctors will look back on and be astonished at how we didn't know how to treat it.

So maybe I just need to hang on for a hundred years or so until they have it figured out :-)

Hello all.

Today I got my bilateral fasciotomy in my feet for CECS. I am in the hospital now, and I woke up about an hour ago.
I just posted a couple of days ago about how to prepare for surgery. Thank you all for the help.

The surgeon did give me a nerve blocker in my feet, but unfortunately it wasn’t enough so they’re getting me more pain meds. I feel pretty OK, but the pain I would say is somewhere between a 5 and a 6 out of 10. Bear in mind I consider myself someone with a fairly high pain tolerance.

The surgeon said no complications occurred. Will update this thread when I am out of the hospital and have more information.

Thank you.

hi everyone, I'm struggling to understand the cause of my (anterior tibialis) leg pain which is ongoing for over 4 months now. A load of tests have been done and my consultant has said everything (including paes) has been ruled out except CECS or nerve causes. I really don't want it to be CECS. At the moment my leg and knee are low-level painful as soon as i stand up. Walking makes it worse. But consultant said if it was CECS my leg would feel rock hard to touch. Mine never is (but then, I stop walking before it gets really really bad). So my question for you guys is whether your leg is generally hard to the touch when it gets painful (so does the tight pressure cause the pain)? I'm terrified of the pressure test as I know it's invasive and carries risks. For the same reason I'm petrified of surgery. However at the moment I really can't move enough to stay fit (I need to go so slowly and for only ~15 mins) so I feel so worried. Consultant says my case is very atypical (I'm not athletic, didn't suddenly increase activity, quite skinny). Thank you everyone

Hello all. My orthopedic surgeon is 90% sure that I've got bi-lateral CECS in both posterior compartments. I haven't had treadmill pressure testing yet as I'm in the middle of a move and couldn't schedule one before leaving the sate.

The thing is, my CECS is tolerable most of the time and only seems to be a real problem at or near race pace during extended intervals. I can run 3 hr in Zone 2, or 4x4min VO2max (Or even 800m repeats) as long as there's enough recovery with only minor pain. But 20+min threshold intervals or 4+ mile marathon pace blocks will cause both calves to blow up and both feet to go dead numb.

I ran a 3:13 full marathon (on numb feet and 9/10 soleus pain) in December on 55mi/wk and a 1:26 half (very little pain, just completely numb feet) in February on 25mi/wk. My last training block was the most aggressive yet for a July Marathon where I had trained up to 65 mi/wk and was on pace to run a 3:08 (to qualify for Boston) where it all went wrong in the final week. Dropping out of that race at 6 miles finally got me in to see the Ortho who listened to my training (and past race stories) and diagnosed me with CECS on the spot, said he wouldn't even test, recommended the fasciotomy straight away.

I've not had the best surgical experiences in the past and I'm wary of getting elective surgery which to most people probably sounds crazy (You can run 50 miles a week? Why would you cut yourself open for that?!)... But I have a dream of running all the majors and of someday getting a sub 3-hr marathon, so I know it would sound silly to many. I know lots of you struggle with CECS daily and would be in heaven if it never presented itself unless running 7min pace for 4+ miles.

So I guess the question is, should I try to train around it, or just get it done? Thanks in advance for any input 🙏

Hi friends,

Has anyone found success in physical therapy for CECS (specifically anterior and lateral compartments of lower leg)?

Also, any other Chicagoans here?

Hello all.

I have posted a couple of times—most recently about whether to do unilateral or bilateral surgery— and I’m getting my surgery scheduled soon.

I will be getting a bilateral fasciotomy in my feet, and I am wondering how to prepare. This would be in terms of things I might need (since I’ll be on bedrest for a little over a week) or items that are nice to have, that I might forget I need, etc…

How did you all prepare for surgery? Anything I should be thinking of? Feel free to, and please be, as honest as you can since this is my first surgery. I’ll have family in the house to help me.

Thank you.

Hi! I (29F) was diagnosed with bilateral compartment syndrome in my anterior, lateral, and deep posterior compartments today. After running for two minutes, my compartments measured 105mmHg- my doctor was astounded.

I am clearly a candidate for surgery- I’m just nervous. I saw a sports medicine doctor after I returned to running after a year of rest due to shin splints. Almost immediately, my symptoms returned.

I’m scared that once I have the procedure, I won’t be able to run since I’m relatively new to it. (My “long runs” are 6 miles running at a 12 min pace)

Can anyone offer any reassurance that I will likely be able to run again? I enjoy it a lot, especially now that I’m doing it for myself and health and not just the time.

I had a decompression open fasciotomy last Monday, in each 4 of the compartments, and I’m not feeling too great about how the recovery is going. I’m a F, 21 years old, and it was just on my left leg, and the first few days of the recovery were okay. I had my leg elevated and iced for more the day so the pain was bearable and I wasn’t having to take my heavy pain meds, and I was also walking down my hallway a little bit and could walk from the couch to the kitchen. Sunday night I noticed that the swelling in my leg was getting worse. Within 2-3 minutes of me standing I could feel the tightening and swelling of everything pooling at the bottom, and the longer I would stand the worse the pressure got. It’s like compartment syndrome feeling but 10x worse because it was just building and building.

I expressed this to my surgeons office who sent me for an ultrasound and a DVT was ruled out, I do have a hematoma, but I was told to take an aspirin once a day and keep the same regimen. I had my post op on Thursday where I was expressing all of my concerns, and I was showing them how swollen my leg was just from walking from the car to the office (on crutches). The PA seemed more focus on my incisions which look great, and he said it’s time for some PT.

Had anyone experienced this after recovery? The pain of the swelling is awful and walking had become unbearable. I did see my PCP today who is referring me to a different specialist and said to keep my leg as elevated as possible this weekend until I can get in. I don’t know, I’m nervous. This has all been an extremely rushed process. I went from seeing an urgent care doctor, to a specialist, to having pressure testing done and surgery all within the same week. I’m scared the surgery wasn’t a success, so I’d love to know what others experiences has been!

For fPAEs more than cecs. My compartment pressure is 25-30.

If I dont run, I usually dont have pain. My lower legs get a tired/numb while walking a lot or hiking, but it is doable.

I can hardly run. I love running. But in general I walk, function and live without pain.

As people who went through something similiar, would you get the surgery if you were in my position? (for artery entrapmant, that is probably the cause of the cecs for me). I know that a lot of people have it much worse.

Hello! I've been dealing with foot pain on and off for the past 4-5 years. I'm working with a doctor now who told me my symptoms could fit with compartment syndrome in my feet, which she said is less common but possible. The problem - no one in my area does compartment pressure testing. Is it normally this hard to find a doctor that does it? I live in Southeastern Virginia and would think Norfolk/Virginia Beach would be large enough areas. I've even tried calling my insurance and they are pretty useless (the CPT code seems to be used for lots of test).

Does anyone have an recommendations on finding a doctor to do the test? I'm more than happy to drive into NC, up to the NoVA/DC area, etc. if I need to.

Thanks!