Playing Catch-up

I decided a few months ago that I was going to start this blog.  Why?  The main reason was because I was about to embark on a journey I knew nothing about.  I did all the reading I could on Chronic Exertional Compartment Syndrome, but I didn't find any first hand accounts from people that had traveled down this road.  I didn't really know what I should expect, and I hope someone trying to decide whether or not to have this surgery will find this and have a better, first-hand, understanding than I did.

I guess to catch you up on the action, I should start with my history.  In January of 2008 I started running with the Team In Training program.  I faced the usual physical challenges for a big guy starting to run.  I overcame them, and completed 2 half-marathons by September 2008.  I took some time off in the fall, only running a few times a month.  In January 2009 I started running more, again with Team In Training.  This time I noticed something different.  I started getting an intense, numb, tingling feeling in my feet after running for about 20 minutes.

The numbness was difficult to bear at first.  I tried everything I could think of to get rid of it.  I laced my shoes differently, stretched more, used after market insoles, took out the insoles alltogether.  Nothing seemed to work.  Fortunately, as my runs got longer, the pain became more bearable.  Usually by the 7th or 8th mile the numbness would subside.

Even so, I knew I had to get something done.  I have goals!  I want to do a half marathon in under 2:10.  I want to do a full marathon.  I just wanted to keep running without pain and without cramping.  About a week before the Mountain Goat run in Syracuse, I went to a podiatrist.  She was nice and gave me some of the suggestions I mentioned above, but none of them worked.  I eventually decided to go to a foot and ankle specialist.  Had a nerve conduction study done on my feet and lower legs.  Everything looked fine.

Finally, the specialist recommended I go see a sports orthopedic specialist, Dr. Battaglia.  He took a look at me and decided he wanted to do the test for compartment syndrome.  In August, I went in for the test and we found that my levels were elevated and the swelling of my calf muscles was causing me to lose circulation to my feet.

From there I had 3 options: 1) keep running with the pain; 2) quit running; or 3) get a fasciotomy.  So, after talking it over with some friends and family, I decided to get the fasciotomy.  Fascia tissue is a thin connective tissue that surrounds the muscles.  This surgery involves going in to cut away the fascia allowing for the tension, and pressure, to be released on the muscle.

On October 13th, 2009, I had my surgery.  The rest of this blog will focus on my road to recovery.