Excessive recovery time

[mbsmith]

Hi All,
I'll try to keep this as short as possible. I'm heavily into cycling, and I injured both lower legs on Aug. 1st, 2008. I ended up with severe swelling in both calves and shins, my calves would twitch and shudder. It took a good 3 months for the swelling in the calves to subside, and another month or two for the anterior tibialis muscle swelling to go away (after wearing compression sleeves used to treat shin splints).

I got an Xray in late Oct, it came back normal, no breaks/fractures. I had an MRI in Nov., the radiologist said everything was normal, and the orthopedic surgeon refused to even look at the MRI images. I've been tested for things like Rheumatoid Arthritis and fibromyalgia, as well as several other diseases, all came back negative.

I've been slowly getting better, but still have some stabbing pains in my calves, and pins and needles and tingling in my feet. Since it's been more than six months, I know it can't just be a muscle injury, it's taking too long to heal. I'm pretty sure I have nerve damage, given the symptoms, but a neurologist did an EMG and one other test, and said I was fine. The only other alternative I can think of is tendinitis, but even that is a stretch after 6 months recovery.

I have no history of chronic pain or injuries, I was in great shape before all of this happened. Any advice or ideas is greatly appreciated, I'm very scared at this point since it hasn't healed up completely. Thanks.

[Heidi]

Hi

Have you considered the possibility of compartment syndrome? I am not sure if this is detected on MRI, but usually to confirm diagnosis an intramuscular pressure test is performed which involves inserting a needle into the muscle.

Have a look here:
http://www.sportsinjuryclinic.net/cybertherapist/front/lowerleg/anteriorcompart.htm

[mbsmith]

Yep, I was actually diagnosed with CS in both shins, and was given the compression sleeves used to treat shin splints; I'm not really sure about CS in the calves however, it was never really addressed.

Thanks for the reply Heidi.