Am I taking unnecessary risks by continuing to run with this problem?

I don’t think so. You seem to have balanced the situation well. The running is a treatment for you. Your doctor has said you can run (well, it sounds as if it’s a CYA “I wouldn’t do that if I were you…”). As long as you err on the side of caution, and prepare for a situation where you might need to contact emergency services on a run, keep running.

@iamthemob Thanks. The extreme end of compartment syndrome is scary. I don’t want to cause muscle death but the doctor told me that I have 6 hours to get into surgery if the pressure doesn’t subside. To me six hours is a good window of time. I do feel that I have ameliorated this problem as much as I can and I do not expect that I will stress the muscle to the point where the situation will be emergent.

I can understand his concern and I love him for it but this isn’t something I can give up.

@tranquilsea – If it’s really that important…is there any way that you can just run by/near/around/in the hospital or where you’d get the service?

The nearest hospital is 15 minutes away but my life is so busy that when I have a window of 45 minutes I lace up and head out the door. It would be much, much harder to run near the hospital three to four times a week.

I guess part of what goes through my mind is that I’ve been running for the last year with this problem (even though they didn’t know exactly what it was) and I successfully modified my programme to diminish the symptoms. There were times when I was on my back because I was in so much pain I couldn’t even stand up but I backed way off of running that hard. I even had a hard time forcing myself to run that hard for the pressure test.

It sounds to me like your doctor already answered this question. I too am a runner and have been dealing with injuries that won’t go away, and I think you are really pushing it. You are going to have to stop running temporarily after your surgery anyway. Why not use this time to try out other forms of cardio?

I’m sure your reaction to that is the same as mine every time it has been said to me—fuck no. But sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do. Swim, bike, or use the miserable stupid elliptical. If you push it now you could injure yourself in a way that prevents you from running permanently. Do your future self a favor and cool it until you’re fixed.

@tranquilsea – I took at face value that running was the only thing that worked for your issues – but before I read that part I’d like to say that I was going to argue exploring some low-impact solutions like @nikipedia suggested.

Really quickly – in the doc “Spirit of the Marathon” one of the subjects is injured, and ends up doing much of her running training in a pool, essentially running along the bottom. Finding a way like that…running while reducing the impact…may allow you to do what you’re doing still, but reduce the impact.

If it really is just the running – get some great friggin shoes but also running SOCKS – these really help.

@nikipedia The pragmatic fully rational side of my brain agrees with my husband (and you). It shouldn’t be a big deal to find something else to do for the next 5 months. But it is a big deal. If the surgery was in a month…I could probably do that. But 5 months is a long time.

@iamthemob I have tried cycling and swimming as an alternative and I didn’t get the same benefits.

Before I started running I made sure I had excellent running shoes (cost me an arm and a leg) because I was fervently hoping that this problem was a shoe issue.

I agree with @nikipedia. If the compartment syndrome gets to an emergency point, your recovery will be longer (than just the surgery alone), more limiting (meaning there will be even less you can do depending on the damage done from the compartment syndrome), and you will be off you feet for a while. In really bad cases of compartment syndrome, they have to cut open the area and leave it open for a bit to be sure the pressure subsides. You may have 6 hours to get into surgery in an emergency situation, but is it really worth possibly losing your limb over? Severe compartment syndrome can cut off all circulation beyond that point which can be very dangerous. Personally, I’d find other ways to deal with your stress, blood pressure, and Reynaud’s for the next 5 months or see if there is any way the doctor can get you into surgery sooner.

@tranquilsea – to clarify – this isn’t really swimming. It’s running…in the pool. It increases resistance and decreases the impact your legs make with the ground…think of it like running on another planet. ;-)

But of course, you know your body best much of the time.

Believe me, I hear you. I’ve spent six months trying to get rid of tendinitis, including taking two full weeks off, reducing my mileage, replacing my shoes, etc. on top of all the suggestions the doctor gave. I have finally given in and accepted that I need to take like 8–10 weeks off if I ever want this to go away. And I’m kicking myself, because if I had just done this six months ago… I would have been running again four months ago. Injuries suck. No way around it. But think about how great you’ll feel when everything is fixed and you can run normally…

@nikipedia I know. I was actually happy that they had a definitive answer for what was going on. Although the answer sucks. I had been running with enormous pain for a year when I was 18 and finally gave it up. When I took it up again a year ago I crossed all my fingers and my toes hoping that pain wouldn’t come back. When it did it was disheartening. I haven’t been able to run without pain for a long time and the thought of pain-free running is, well, thrilling.

@Seaofclouds I know the outcome could be truly awful if it comes to an acute stage. And I really do not want to go there. The picture on the Wikipedia page for Faciotomy is exactly what my shin would look like if this went acute.

Off to do some thinking…cue the Jeopardy music.

Agree with your husband and doctor. Take up swimming.

Perhaps you should look in to cycling a bit more? There are so many varieties and so many kinds of bikes- perhaps a good trainer could evaluate you and see what you need. Having my bike professionally fitted made a world of difference.