Tuesday, August 23, 2011

Compartment Syndrome

One of the reasons I do Track & Field sprinting events instead of 5 & 10k runs is that I have a condition called chronic exertional compartment syndrome. What happens is my calves get very sore and swollen after about 2 minutes of jogging. It is very painful and not something that you want to continue to push through for very long, as the swelling in the compartments causes increased pressure in the calves. If the pressure is high enough, blood flow to the compartment can be blocked. This can lead to permanent injury.

I had surgery about four years ago on one leg and did not notice much improvement. I couldn't walk for about three weeks and it was not a pleasant time. It's not really something I want to go through again, but it is something I hope to have corrected if possible.

In the meantime I will stick with exercise that doesn't aggrivate it as much. With sprint training I can take enough rest between high intensity short runs to let the pressure go back down. I also believe that sprint training works the muscles in a way to get the body type I'm looking for.

Take care.

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